Promises and Deities
by CharkaXDevilFruit
Summary: Zachary Sewell was about to start his first day at college... Then, he bumped into an old man. Thanks to a reality-bending deity, Zach found himself on some island in the South Blue with a retired Marine, chakra racing through his system, a Sea Prism Stone necklace, and some vague promises that might get him home. Not a crossover, but it is the One Piece Universe with some ninjas.
1. Chapter 1

A/N- This isn't the first fan fiction that I have written, but it will be the first that I have published. I have actually taken elements from some other fanfictions, but I really had some issues with how they were explained, and had been thinking of ways that I would do it in my own way. So, here is my One Piece fan fiction with a sprinkle of Naruto.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, Naruto, nor any of their characters. I guess I do own any OC's that I write about.

 _ **A Fickle Redhead.**_

-x-

It was supposed to be just another average day in my average life, but for some reason or another, I had the (mis?)fortune to pique the interest of something I shouldn't have. Okay, that probably doesn't tell you all just what I have gotten myself into.

It all started when I was on my way to the first day of classes at my college. I was all set for the day, I had brought my lunch, my textbooks, tablet jacket, cell phone, etcetera etcetera. I had even made it all the way to the campus before I bumped into, what I assumed, was an old homeless person before things went straight to the loony bin.

Obviously, the first thing I did was apologize to the poor guy I had bumped into, but then I had gotten a closer look at the man. He was shorter than by about half a foot, and long graying hair that covered most of his face, and went down to just below his shoulder. He was dressed in jeans covered in holes, and an old lumberjack style flannel shirt with a ragged coat to cover it. I could see patches all over the clothes. All of this led me to the assumption that he was down on his luck.

So, the first thing I said after my almost reflex like apology was, "Are you ok?"

He grumbled something under his breath, and then looked up to my eyes, and I noticed how his were actually shifting between colors right before my eyes. One second they looked hazel, and then they shifted between black, blue, green, purple, red, and then the oddest of all was how they turned completely white. It made me wonder what was happening until I realized he had been talking to me. "... that's why I need your help! Can you do it, boy?" He fiercely whispered at me in my confusion.

I tried to figure out what it was he had asked me to do, but I decided to just dumbly nod my head at him. "Sure, why don't we go inside, and talk about it." I pulled out my lunch bag to offer him. "You can have my lunch while we talk, O.K.?"

He fiercely shook his head, and started dragging me around the corner. I was more shocked by his sudden actions than anything else, and for some reason just numbly followed his lead. I don't know why, but any thought of not doing so just never entered my head. He quickly let go of my arm when we were out of sight of everyone else, and he started to hastily whisper something to me. "When you get there you need to train your power until you can open the case, and then eat what's inside. With it you should be strong enough to save my family. Now, all I need to do is give it to you before it shows up to correct me." He quickly took a necklace from around his neck, and jammed it into my hands. I took a glance at it, and saw that it was a gray polished stone cube that looked like it was stone, but harder than any I had seen before. I could faintly feel some kind of etchings on the jewelry. His next words jerked me away from his present. "You'll be able to find them when you unlock that." He started to get twitchy as if expecting something to happen. I saw him take a deep breathe, and then slam his right hand on my left bicep, and things started to get blurry as I felt my body start to burn from the inside, and as I let a wordless howl escape my lips I saw his white as snow eyes look down on me writhing in pain as he said, "Now it will have to take you back instead of me…" I felt the edges of my vision blur when I my face get splashed with something warm and wet. Then, I saw nothing, but blackness.

I woke up to the sound of trees falling, cursing, and waves lapping against sand. I tried to open my eyes, and as soon as they moved I felt a lance of electricity bolt through me. It felt like touching a live wire. I let a strangled curse escape my own lips, and jerked up. "AWW! What is this?!" I fell back on the sand to pant heavily as the pain receded. I slowly worked my eyes open again, and moved what felt like a snail's pace as I sat up to look around me.

I saw a white sandy beach, tall trees of different kinds, and an angry woman running around cursing while punch said trees into splinters. I felt my brain kick into overdrive. " _Okay, this person is obviously in a bad mood, and has herculean strength… I need to get out of here."_

I slowly got up as quietly as I could, and made my way to the other side of the beach. I had almost made it to the forest in my slow limp before I realised that the suring and explosions had stopped. I felt cold sweat go down my back, as I turned my head to see a 5'7" red headed woman staring daggers at me in my attempt to escape. I made a instinctual decision to run as fast as I could, and felt the lightning race over my body as I jerked forward and fell on my face.

After the waves of agony had passed, I heard something like bells ringing or wind chimes going off. I struggled to look up, and saw the red head laughing with her head thrown back while resting on a rock right in my escape path. I was shocked for what felt like forever as I realized that the music I was hearing was actually laughter. Unfortunately, as soon as it had appeared, It had disappeared. I saw her face clearly, and it had changed from happiness to anger in a split second. Her eyes were doing the same thing as the old man's had done, and shown me a kaleidoscope of various colors before hers settled on pitch black all throughout the eyeball.

I flinched and felt a tremor of a shock as she stood up to walk towards me. "I don't understand why he would pick some like you…" I heard her say as the words drifted into my ears like the wind. I ignored the pain as I rolled over to scoot away on the sand until she plopped down to tuck her vermillion dress under her and stared at me as I froze on the spot. I hadn't froze of my own volition, but solely because some force was compelling me to not move.

at least until she raised her hand and turned it in a slow motion. As it turned so did my head until she had apparently seen enough of my face. I heard her inhale deeply before she sighed. "He really missed them…" She seemed to snap herself out of something and looked down on me with all the authority of a king. "You do not belong here, but, thanks to that man, you are now stuck here. Forever."

I let that sink in as I felt body come out of its restriction. I looked around to the desolate beach she had just gone on a rampage in. "W-where is "here"?"

She quirked an eyebrow at me, and then scowled. "He never even told you? Did you at least consent before he threw all of this at you?!"

I blanched in terror at the palpable rage saturating the air around us, and hastily back away while holding my hands up. "He asked me to help, and I said yes, but I didn't understand! I'm sorry!" I saw her start to calm down, and I hastily said what had been bothering me this whole time. "What the hell just happened to me? I was about to start classes, and then that man started rambling on and asking for my help, and WHAT IS UP WITH YOUR EYES?!"

I slumped on the ground in semi-comfortable position before she started to grin mischievously at me. "Oh, so he hasn't actually told anything…" She scrunched up her face in thought. "This could actually be fun… and you did consent. OK, It's settled!" She smiled in a such an innocent way that I felt as if someone had punched me in the gut. "Well, to start with, you are in the South Blue." She kept up that innocent smile as she stared at me like prey.

That's when it hit me like a ton of bricks. "Did you say South Blue? L-Like from One piece? Like devil fruit, corrupt marine, insane pirates, and the freaking golden age of pirates?!" I felt myself start hyperventilating, and reached up to cup a fist in front of my mouth to not pass out.

She kept up her smile, but I could tell she was laughing on the inside by the way her eyes sparkled with mirth. "Yes, yes, yes. All of those things, and more! You see, you consented to something that shouldn't have happened, and now you have to live with it. That man" She spoke this part a little too vehemently for my tastes. "has most likely ruined your life. Isn't that interesting?" She cocked her head to the side in playful innocence.

I felt like my world was collapsing around me. "What do you mean I consented?"

I saw her lip twitch in a bid to not laugh at me. "Well, he asked you to save his family, I'm sure. So, when you agreed, he gave you the tools necessary to fulfill the promise you made. Which is quite sad if you ask me because it's something even he couldn't do by himself." She snorted loudly at that, and looked down at me with amber yellow eyes.

I felt my breathing calm down, and I searched for where to start. "Can… can you just tell what's going on? I get that you're laughing at my expense, but I'd really appreciate it if you'd just tell me how the hell to get home!" I ended up yelling because staying calm isn't really possible with nothing normal to latch onto.

The smile on her face disappeared in an instant, and my blood ran cold as she looked at me with pale blue eyes. "I don't appreciate your tone, human." I flinched at her use of that word for some reason. "You are not in a position to speak. The only reason that you are even alive is because that man has put all of his hopes into your hands, and I owe him at least that much." She leaned back to settle into the sand, and I felt the pressure evaporate. "I won't tell you everything, but I can say this. That man gave his life to get you here. He gave you a task; to save his family. Finally, he gave you the tools you'll need to even stand a chance at fulfilling your promise." She stared at me silently while I tried to digest that.

I numbly picked up the necklace the man gave me. "So, if I save his family, then I can go home?"

She scrunched her forehead in thought before nodding slightly. "I can do that… If you save them, then I will send you home like you never left. Deal?"

I nodded my head fast before a thought hit me. "Wait! You'll send me home? How can you do that? I'm in some kind of fictional world. How can you do that?!"

She winked at me in a playful manner. "Oh, human. You should have realized this by now, but there's no such thing as fiction. If I want it to happen, then it does. This is all just for me to play around with. I felt the beach start to shake, and the sky go dark with rain and lightning. The wind blew up a hurricane, and in the middle of the hurricane was the faint outline of my college campus. Then it all disappeared in an instant when she waved her hand. She glared down at my frightened face, and smirked a little at me. "So, I take it you understand that I can follow up on my end of the bargain. Now, you just have to finish your task."

I slowly stood up from the wet sand to look at my necklace. "You said he gave me tools? What does it do?"

She walked over to me to point to my left bicep where there was a marking in a language I can't even begin to understand literally burned onto me. "This is the second gift. With this mark he opened all of your meridians to allow the ambient energy found in all living beings to flow unimpeded through your body." She looked at the blank look on my face, and scowled. "Think of it as… chakra. That's the name for it in a world you're probably familiar with." She nodded as my face lit up with understanding and then shock. "Glad to see you understand. Now, The first gift is that necklace. in your hands. It's made of sea prism stone, and contains the seed of a devil fruit; I won't tell you which. When you chakra is matured enough, you can channel it to open the necklace, and fulfill your promise." She turned around to walk away while waving lazily over her shoulder. "Have fun, human." She got farther away she started to disappear like a mirage.

I stood numbly as I tried to take all of this in, and walked over to the forest to sit under a tree where the ground was dry. " _I can't believe this… I'm in the world of One Piece. I have chakra? How does that even work? Who exactly was that old man?"_ I slumped against the tree to think things through. I peered down at my necklace, and tried to see what it was. I could faintly see miniscule etchings flowing all around the cube. " _One thing I know is that everything she told me is the truth… It's like a feeling I know deep in my soul. So, I can't let anyone see this. I will need the devil fruit to get home."_

I put the necklace on, and hid it under my gray shirt. The next thing I did was an inventory. I found that aside from the dark blue jeans, gray long sleeve tee, brown jacket, and my brown sneakers, I also had my bag for class and my lunch box. I checked the bag to find a textbook for Engineering 242 and 243. There was also a notebook, calculator, my tablet, cellphone, wallet, tylenol, a snickers, and a set of earbuds. " _Dang… I doubt there's a signal out here. I'll turn off the electronics for now in case I find a use for them."_ I decided to use to use the notebook to sketch out what I know.

' **What RHD told me: I'm in the south blue. I have Chakra. I have a Devil Fruit. I need to save the old man's family.** '

I crumpled up the page in frustration after looking at it for half an hour. I stood up, and grumpily grabbed my bag to move to set up a temporary camp. I may not know where I am, but I was a boy scout, and have had plenty of engineering classes to do this much. I found some loose branches from RHD's rampage to start a fire, and made a lean-to with palm leaves and particularly large rock. After I sat down to eat my lunch box before the lunch meat went bad. I had just started my meal when I noticed one startling fact.

My body felt a peculiar rush of energy, and then it seemed to condense into a spot two inches above my navel. I reached down with my hand to feel what it was, but couldn't feel anything different. I tried eating some more of my bologna sandwich to see if it came back, and tried my best to mentally follow the flow of energy I felt this time. I carefully repeated the process until I felt myself mentally connect with the spot where it was going, and felt like my body had connected with a live wire again. This continued for a few seconds until my body stopped twitching, and it cooled down. I then started to feel it turn into a comfortable heat flowing through every part of my body. I stood up quickly, and went to a large stone on the beach to try something. I sprinted over there, and went for a tumble as my legs connected with too much force into the loose sand. I tried moderating the force I applied as I made my way to the stone, and started lifted up the stone that easily weighed three times my own body weight. I had almost lifted it above my knees when suddenly the warmth stopped flowing, and the rocks almost crushed my hands beneath it. I barely avoided damage to my hands, but my face wasn't so lucky.

"Sunnava!" I grumbled under my breath as I rubbed the stinging cheek that connected with the stone. I glared at the rock angrily until I felt myself getting dizzy. I plopped on the ground in confusion, and tried to think if I had gotten a concussion that easily. " _I don't think I hit it that hard… It must be because I did something wrong with that energy."_ I walked over to my lean-to and sat by my lunch box to continue eating. I quickly felt that warmth returning. I nodded my head to myself in confirmation.

" _That's what I thought. I just got this power. I must need more time to build up chakra reserves. If I use too much I'll get chakra exhaustion like Kakashi did in the land of waves. I don't want to spend a week bedridden on an uninhabited island."_ I jerked my head up to look around cautiously. " _I wonder if this island is uninhabited… I guess I just assumed it was because no one came to check up on the place after RHD went on a rampage, but I guess I need to make sure."_

I grabbed my bag, and slung the leather messenger bag over my shoulder. I clipped my collapsible lunchbox onto the strap before taking a nice sized branch I found for firewood. I made my way onto the beach to look for a stone to sharpen it into a spear before I made my way along the beach. I turned around to see a trail of footprints in wet sand, and decided it was as good as any breadcrumb trail, and continued on my way.

I continued along the beach until it split into two paths. One led upwards along a rocky path, and the other led around like previous trek had been so far. I decided to take the trail up to see if I can get a clear view of the island. The trail was bumpy, and full of gravel. I continued until it started to level out, and then looked around to see it had plateaued into a rocky grassland. I couldn't see anything on the grassland except for one small stone house. I could see a faint smoke trail coming from the chimney. There was also a small garden situated next to it, and stones piled up around it to make a fence.

I slowly made my way over to the hut when I was suddenly kicked in the back of my knee to force me down, and a knife placed at my throat. "What exactly were you going to do with that stick of yours, boy?" I heard a raspy voice growl into my ear.

I gulped audibly until I felt my adam's apple catch on the blade, and then I felt a warm trail of blood drip down my neck. I felt the knife ease up enough for me to speak. "I'm stranded on the island. I just wanted to know where I am."

I felt him release me, and jerk the stick out of my hands before walking in front of me. I slowly stood up with my hands out to the sides. He looked me over critically while I did the same. He was a muscular man who reminded me of grizzly adams with his brown beard, and clothing made of animal skins. "I never saw your ship land. How did you get here?"

I looked him in the eyes and put my best innocent look on. "I don't know for sure. I just woke up on the beach with my bag and the clothes on my back." I decided that the truth was never a bad option. Even if I left out the whole Red Headed Deity part of it all.

He slowly let his shoulders ease as he nodded his head. "I hope you forgive me, but you can't be too careful these days. Pirates are everywhere."

I nodded in understanding. "I'm not mad. I would be careful too." I gestured at his house. "So, do you live on this island by yourself?"

I turned his head slightly to look over his shoulder with a wistful look flickering on his face. "Yeah. I've lived here ever since I retired from the marines. It's nice to be somewhere that doesn't get overrun by pirates."

I scrunched my eyebrows in thought. "Is it really that dangerous around here?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "It was back in my day. When I was a marine, there were pirates everywhere out for Roger's treasure. It seems like as soon as he passed the world went into anarchy."

I hummed in thought as he said that. "How long have you been retired, Mr…" I smacked my forehead in realization. "I never told you my name! I'm sorry about that. I'm Zachary Sewell."

I saw his beard twitch a little, and wondered if he had just smiled. "I'm Montgomery Tyler. Pleased to meet you Mr. Zachary."

I felt my lip twitch into a smile. "You can just call me Zach. So, Tyler, would you happen to have a map? I need to get somewhere as fast as I can."

He scratched his beard lazily, and gestured towards the house. "Come on, I think I still have my marine issue map in the hut."

I smiled happily as I followed him into his hut, and when I looked around I saw a simple bed, a desk, and a treasure chest locked up tightly in the corner. "You sure do live simply, don't you?"

He nodded absently as he looked around on his desk until he pulled out a rolled up piece of leather. "Here it is. I had it transcribed onto leather to keep it more water resistant. I just had to stop it from calcifying." He gently unrolled the nicely tooled leather to look it over before nodding, and handing it to me in a hard leather case along with a strap. "There you go. A detailed map of all marine explored territory."

I grabbed case, and froze as he finished his sentence. "Wait, what? Isn't that confidential? are you allowed to just hand something like that over?"

He shrugged good naturedly. "I don't see why not. I retired so I don't need it anymore and you obviously do. I can tell by the look in your eyes that you have a long journey ahead of you."

I felt a smile tugging at my cheeks, and bowed like they do in the One Piece anime. "Thank You for your map." I straightened up to look at the map he had given me, and he sidled over to direct my gaze.

He pointed at one particular island in the South Blue near Reverse mountain. "This island is called Grizzly Plateau, and it's been granted to me through meritorious service to the world government. Now, where do you need to go?"

I looked around the map, and noticed that aside from the Blues, there wasn't much information. Which brought me to the understand that anything from the grand line must be of more considerable secrecy. "I need to make it to the East blue. I either need to make it to Conomi Island, or at the very least to Logue Town."

After finishing this I looked over to see him shaking his head. "That's definitely not an easy journey, Zach. You might not know this, but getting between Blues is no easy matter. There are two ways to do something like that. The first is to directly sail through the Calm Belt, Grand Line, and then Calm Belt again. Which is almost impossible unless you're a Marine, or from the New World. The second option is to go through Marejois, and the Red Line. Only high ranking World Government Officials or royalty would be qualified to do such a thing."

I felt my shoulders slump in defeat. " _That means I'd have to join the marines, or make a deal with them just to get there. That definitely doesn't sound safe considering I have both chakra, and a devil fruit. I might end up a test subject, robbed, or forced into slavery. I need to sail there."_ I firmed my resolve before straightening my back. "I guess I'll just have to go through the Grand Line."

I saw him walk away while I was considering my route, and then heard something click in the background. "I can't say that I've seen many young men willing to go on such a long journey before. What's waiting for you once you get there?"

I smiled at him a little ruefully. "Well, it's not exactly waiting for me, but if I can find it, then I'll be able to go home to my family again. I just have to" This is where I scowled at myself. "Fulfill a promise before I can do so."

I saw him sitting on his bed by his chest before he nodded to himself. "You know, I am getting on in my years, and It's been awhile since I last went out for a trip to Logue Town. I think I might have a spot available for you if you wanted to sail there with me." I jerked my head up to see him smiling kindly to me.

I don't know why, but I felt my eyes start to get blurry. "Why would you do something like that?"

He shrugged as if oblivious to my near breakdown. "I just think that it would be really sad to a brave young man never make it home just because he made a promise he obviously regrets making. I do respect how you're still going to uphold it though. That's why I am doing this."

I coughed loudly, and rubbed my eyes surreptitiously. " _I can't believe I almost cried over a little charity. I guess RHD really did a number on me. Either way, this is a good opportunity. Even if the only reason that I'm getting is because he mistakenly believes honor is what's making me fulfill this promise."_ I straightened my back to look him in the eyes before I bowed again. "Thank you very much for your charity. I don't know how to repay you."

He waved it off before rifling around in his chest before pulling out an old Marine's cap to put on. "There we go. Can't make a trip without proper headgear." He smiled up at me before pulling his chest to his desk, and packing up his things. He motioned to the door. "Just give me a second to pack my things, and we can head on over to my ship to set sail for the Calm Belt."

I nodded my head vigorously, and went to sit on his fence. I did a quick inventory of my own while he was in there, and came to the conclusion that I did indeed still have all my stuff. After a few minutes he came out with his chest slung over his shoulder, and we made our way off the plateau to what I determined as the direct opposite of where I came into this world at. We eventually made it down to a smaller sized ship that looked like it could hold maybe five people, and their supplies. It also looked like it could be run by only one skilled sailor. I saw Tyler gesture proudly at the ship. "There she is, my pride and joy, the Going Wild. She'll be able to hold us, and being the Marine I was, she's already fit for a long voyage."

I smiled happily as I walked over to the dock. "Wow, Tyler. It looks great. You really think we can make it through the Grand Line with this ship, though?"

He smirked proudly at that. "Of course she can. Before I left the Marine some information was made know to all Vice Admirals or higher about the effects of Sea Prism Stone on the Calm Belt. We'll be able to sail through the Calm Belt easy, and with me here, there's no need to worry about any of those pirates you find in Paradise. We'll get you to Logue Town, Zach."

I felt my jaw drop as I digested all of that, and gave him a once over. "Y-You're a V-Vice Admiral?!" I practically yelled at him.

I saw him look at me in confusion before he slapped his knee in laughter from the look on my face. "Of course I am! How else do you expect me to have gotten an island from the World Government?!"

I stared at him in awe and trepidation before turning to fully look at the somewhat small, but not desolate island behind me. " _Wow… To have actually been granted an island is a big deal. I've never heard of that kind of thing outside of royalty in the manga. Wait! Is he royalty?"_ I turned to fully inspect him. " _No, he doesn't give off that vibe. He's just a highly capable Marine. I wonder if I can get him to train me a little."_ I turned back to look at him a little sheepishly. "Say, I know I'm being a little forward here, but do you think you could maybe train me a little?"

He blinked slowly before giving me a deliberating look. Then, I noticed an almost maniacal glint in his eye as he smiled at me in what looked like expectation. "Oh, yes. I do believe it would be my pleasure."

I slowly took a step back before his grin widened, and he threw me on top of the ship yelling. "Oh, No, Sir! Not now! You asked for it, Zach. Now let's get started with your training with some good old fashioned rowing to build those shoulder muscles!"

I looked skeptically around the boat I had been thrown on, and noticed two rowing benches on opposite sides of the ship. I raised my hand sheepishly. "How do I row the boat without it just going in circles?"

He stopped cold from his little jig about 'finding a new victim/trainee' and looked at e as if I were an idiot. "Well, obviously you have to run back and forth! Now get going, or we'll miss the tide!" He then proceeded to throw a pebble straight at my rear to get me in motion. I glared over my shoulder at the sadistic smile blossoming on the man's face. " _Why the heck did I volunteer for this?"_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N- Well, I think my first chapter might have been a bit rushed, but I just really didn't want to put a lot the chapters with a story of him hitching rides across grand line, and rowing the calm belts. I figured a training chapter with the voyage in the background was a much better way to spend the time. So, here we go! Imagine this as a training montage to catch Zach up to beginner Luffy from a normal non-anime human!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, Naruto, nor their characters. I do own an OC's I write about.

 _ **Grumpy Old Bear**_

-x-

I then spent the next week solidly sprinting back and forth on the ship rowing the dang thing while Tyler threw pebbles at me whenever I slowed down. I'm still not sure where he got all of them, but I swear each pebble made the boat lighter. That wasn't the only 'training' he put me through either. He also had me climbing the rigging while listing off the various names, and functions of parts of the ship. He was notably upset when he found out that I had never been sailing, and didn't know port from starboard; a fact he was quick to rectify.

I hopped down from the rigging to land in a heap beside tyler who was sitting at a table somehow snuck on board drinking something fruity. I was steadily coming to hate this man. I tried to take a quick break to catch my breath while he was drinking, but got a sharp poke in the rear for it. "Don't think I can't see you taking a break just because I'm not looking!"

I grumbled under my breath about a particularly colorful place for him to throw those pebbles while running to the other side of the ship to take the sail down before putting it back up, and doing the whole thing over, and over again. Luckily for me, it was almost lunchtime, and I could take a break then.

I managed to make it through this tortuous routine through to lunch mostly because of one little trick that I'd found. If I tap into my chakra reserves, then I'll refresh all my aching muscles to help me keep going. It's almost like taking a ten minute break in an instant, but the sad part is that my pitiful reserves limit how often I can do something like that. They have been steadily growing ever since I started this routine. Which makes sense because chakra is a mixture of mental and physical. So, by doing this I can train my chakra as well. Now, I just need to train my mental aspect in some way.

So, this brings me to my topic of discussion during lunch. "Tyler, since you were a Vice Admiral, would you happen to know of any way to train your mind?"

I felt him look up from his fish stir fry to look at me questioning. "I do, but if you thought you had it rough now, then you definitely won't like that kind of training."

I looked down at my hands, and felt the necklace I was wearing start to get heavy. I wondered what my parents doing right at this moment, and then looked back up at Tyler. "I need to get stronger… I know I complain about this training, but that's just because I'm not used to it yet. If you have a way to train my mind as well as my body, then I'd like to do that."

He gave me a cursory glance, and turned his head to look at something far to the west that I couldn't see. "If I teach you this training method, then you must never teach it to anyone other than those closest to you… And if you are to seriously master what this regimen trains, then you must spare no effort in practicing this daily… My methods are cruel, but they will work given time." Then I noticed him sheepishly look me over and mumble under his breath "If it doesn't kill you first, you wimp."

I blinked in confusion for a second before glaring at him. "HEY! I'm not a wimp! What kind of training method kills people, you psychotic huntsman! Just teach me already!" I was halfway through my outburst when I cold sweat go down my back as he slowly turned around to look me in the eye with an eerie grin on his face.

"I'm glad to hear you're so eager to start. Well, I have a present for you." He walked over to his old chest that he brought from home to take out a set of leg and wrist weights before ruthlessly slapping them onto me. I noticed how they felt vaguely familiar until I say that they were actually Sea Prism Stone weights, and were actually so densely packed that they weighed a lot more than normal stone would. It felt like I was actually trying to move while under water with them on. Tyler nodded in satisfaction before yelling in my ear. "Now get to rowing!" I felt a sharp poke on my rear again, and ran over to the rowing bench while he yelled and threw even more pebbles at me.

I spent the rest of that day doing exactly as he said, and put up with the increased torture as best I could, but by evening I had had enough. "What is this exactly supposed to do for my mental state anyway, Tyler! I've just been playing target practice while doing even more chores on a ship that actually has a sail that we've yet to use except for my maneuvers!"

He scowled at me, and walked over to pull my arm in front of my face. "Look at your arm. What do you see different?"

I glared at him for a second before doing as he said, and noticed how my was drenched in sweat, and I could actually see well-defined contours where my muscles were located. I blinked in confusion before he let go, and went behind me to smack my rear with an audible smack. I flinched on reflex until I noticed that it didn't hurt as bad as it should have. "What just happened?"

He harrumphed and sauntered over to his fruity drink. "I'm building muscle definition before we work on any kind of fighting style. You can't build a house without a solid foundation. As for what is going on with your rear" I heard a muffled chuckled. "That is a technique called 'Iron Body' It's all very hush hush, but it's basically flexing your muscles to act as a form of defense."

I tried to take in what he had just said. "I'm learning one of the six powers! I wonder if he'll teach me any of the others! Let's see… There's Finger Guns, Shave, Moon Walk, Tempest Kick, and Paper Art! They all sound so cool! Okay, play it cool, and maybe he'll keep it up! Who knows, maybe I'll get some hints on Haki!" I reached around to pat my rear, and found it to be… well not iron. I looked up at him confusedly, and he nodded. "This training method works on your reflexes until you understand what it is you're supposed to be doing. Me repeatedly hitting you at random intervals leads to a clenching of the muscles as a reaction to the stimulus. Now, given enough practice" Here is where he let out a dark chuckle. "You'll be able to consciously use this to deter some damage."

I blinked in confusion and held up two fingers. "Okay, I think I understand, but can you tell me it only deters some damage?"

He nodded somewhat reluctantly. "Yes, I can. You see, this technique will work wonders in Paradise, but if you ever make it to the New World, then you'll need to learn to use Haki" He quickly held up a hand to stop my question. "And no. I will not teach you what that it. You aren't ready for it. Heck, I'm surprised you've even had luck with 'Iron Body'."

I scowled at him somewhat grumpily. "Well, there goes my chances to learn Haki before the Timeskip." I jerked my head up in confusion again. "Well, that explains the first part, but do you think you can explain why it is you've been so focused on my rear? Will just training that area apply to my whole body?"

He slowly turned to look at me with unrestrained mirth dancing in his eyes, and a sadistic smile on his lips. I groaned audibly as I physically slapped myself for my slip up. "Well, now don't you make a good point, Zachary. I do believe I'll have to redress this issue."

I visibly blanched in realization of what I had just done, as I turned to run from the crazy huntsman. "Crap, crap, crap! Why did I open my mouth?!" I turned the corner to hide behind the small cabin on the Going Wild, and felt a chill grace my spine as I looked up to see pearly white teeth shining through a very messy beard in what was obviously a sadistic grin.

"Now, now, Zachary. We need to get back to training or we won't make it to the East Blue!" I could hear Tyler chuckle darkly as I felt pebbles smack against various parts of my body as I ran to continue 'building my foundations'.

-x-

As much as I hate to admit it, I really did see results with this training regimen. Thanks to my repeated training on how to operate the ship I can now safely say that I could sail through a Blue. During dinner, and after the nightly training regimen, Tyler took time to show me how to read, and use a map. So, I can also say that I could most likely live the rest of my life as a merchant if I wanted. The only problem for my future career sailing and dealing goods is my lack of a ship.

In the meantime though, I am more than happy to borrow Tyler's Going Wild for our little adventure across hemispheres. I don't know why he is going through so much trouble to help me out, but I can't say I'm upset about it. I'm going through body training, and what I've come to call 'flinch training' to set a solid foundation for the insane adventures the Strawhats are going to get into.

Another important thing worth mentioning is that I figured out when I am in the timeline. I asked Tyler about his marine days, and got clarification on when Roger was executed twenty years ago. I even managed to get the paper from Tyler to make sure of the timeline when I saw that a new pirate group had popped up called the Spade Pirates. I know for sure that they are Ace's group, and if he hasn't joined Whitebeard yet, then Luffy hasn't left his hometown either.

I'm not positive on the timeline, but I think I have a year or two. This leaves me with a couple of options to get in touch with Luffy. I've been thinking things over, and decided that the best option is to go to Syrup village to wait for him to pick up Usopp.

Now, back to the horribly effective training montage!

We'd finally made it out of the South Blue and into the Calm Belt after we restocked on supplies at a nearby island that I've already forgotten the name of. Tyler has been ramping up the training while adding on more of what he considers basic knowledge. It's gotten to the point where he just assumes that I don't know it, and goes off on a rant about how to properly clean the hull, or bely the lines. Honestly, I'd probably be more annoyed if this wasn't essential information.

Aside from the nautical knowledge, I've always been building muscle definition throughout my body. He's managed to take the simple tasks to mopping the deck, or swimming after the ship he kicked me off of, and turned them into cardio or weight training. I'd probably be upset about this too if I hadn't remembered the torture Garp put Luffy through.

"Now, I'm telling you, Zachary! When we get through the Calm Belt, you're going to be dreaming of these easy going days on the sea with your good ole pal, Tyler!" He yelled in his drill instructor voice that was kind of ruined when he finished it with another slurp of his fruity drink. "Dang, I love these things…" I heard him sigh in content.

I on the other hand had a crate of supplies strapped to my back while I ran across the deck trying to row across the Calm Belt. I'm not sure how many of his training regimens I've actually done, but he always comes back to this one. Whenever I ask about he always says "Well how else do you expect a sailor to get around if his ship goes down? You should be thanking me for building up those wimpy muscles, boy!" I knew he was right about all of this, but it didn't make it enjoyable.

I eventually settled in for our late night session to review our heading when I noticed that the table was strewn with a a variety of weapons. There were knives, bucklers, katana, Staves, Maces, Hatchets, a bow, a crossbow, a sling, a pistol, rifle, and a plethora of other odds and ends that I couldn't name. I looked over them critically before looking back at Tyler with hope in my eyes. "Does this mean we can start training with weapons?"

He snorted loudly. "As if, Boy. The next step of your training is to defend against these weapons. I won't let you handle one of these until you can do so without hurting me or anyone you're not actually aiming for." I saw him start to smile in that evil sadistic way of his again, and felt my shoulders slump again. "Of course, this also means we can take your Iron Body training to the next level. As it stands I'm loathe to even call what you do practice. It's more equivalent to Porcelain body."

I felt my previously lifted spirits take a nosedive as I let that sink in, and vaguely heard Tyler push my chair out with his foot. "Take a seat, Zach." His tone was different from how it usually was. It sounded kind like when we first met, and I was too surprised to do anything other than just do as he said. "Do you know why I'm helping a total stranger like this?"

I cocked my head to the side in confusion. "Yeah, I have been wondering. I mean I don't think just anyone would uproot their lives to help a castaway on a whim like this." I took the time to gesture to my sweat drenched form, and calm ocean around us.

He took a slow sip of his drink before nodding his head in confirmation. "You're right. I'm not doing this on a whim. I'm doing this because of my religion." I think he could catch my confusion as he went on to explain. "You see, I follow a religion from before the World Government was established." He took on a wistful look as he gazed out to sea, and then turned melancholic. "I met a woman during my time enlisted, and she took the time to talk to me about that religion in a time when I really needed something to believe in." He shook his head in annoyance. "I won't bore you with a long story, but she taught me about the beliefs of Ozaron and how the ancients used to live… It was something that really struck a chord with me."

I tapped the table absently as I digested that, and hazarded a guess. "Can I ask you something?" I recieved a reluctant nod from him. "Was that woman from Ohara?"

I saw the momentary flash of shock streak across his face before it settled on indifference. "I am willing to tell you a lot of things, Zachary, but I am not willing to sign your death warrant by telling you thing the World Government would rather keep secret."

I let a small sigh escape my lips. "It's fine if you don't want to talk about it, but can you at least tell me why this religion would lead you to sailing me across half the world?"

He smiled a genuinely happy smile as he pointed to my arm. "That's an easy one. You're arm has been branded with the mark of Ozaron. In my religion that can only mean one thing; you have been visited by Ozaron, and given a trial." He let out a contented breath before laughing happily. "I had been at that island for so long just waiting for my trial, and then you came along with that mark! Imagine my joy when I realized that my trial was to actually help you cross the Grand Line!" He sat up in his chair and reached over to grab my hands in a religious fervor. "I've been honest with you about all of this. Now, can you tell me what your trial is?"

I politely pulled my hand away, and reached up to my arm to trace the mark branded on my skin. "I haven't been given many details…"

I saw him nod emphatically to my statement. "That's fine! Just tell how I can help!"

I turned my head to look at the stars in contemplation. "If I tell him about the chakra and devil fruit then there is every chance that he could attempt to steal my 'trial' from me… I can probably tell him the end goal of all this." I nodded to myself almost absentmindedly before looking over to my bearded teacher. "Everything I know was told to me by the man who put this mark on my arm. He only asked that I save his family, and then brought me here." I shrugged helplessly. "I can only assume that when I make it to my destination I'll be able to find a clue as to where they are. I also plan to enlist some help while i'm out there."

I saw him positively brimming in excitement over my last few words, and felt like kicking myself as he said. "That's great! I'll help in any way that I can! In traditional Ozaron trials, the chosen must always accept the call, and is rewarded for their service!" Tyler quickly stood up to gesture all around us in the vast empty ocean. "Can you imagine it? What would a reward from a god be like? Could they heal the sick? Bring back a loved one? Or even fix something you did wrong in the past?" I noticed Tyler's voice dropping lower and lower as he spoke, and noticed how he spaced off for a while after his last suggestion.

I slowly stood up to look over my religious travelling partner. "I don't know what the consequences would be of bringing a retired Vice Admiral to meet up with the Strawhats, but I can't change the timeline that much, or else I'll lose one of the only advantages I have in this world. If he wants to help that much, then I need to find a role he can play that won't directly alter my foreknowledge… I can probably safely train with him until I head off to Syrup Village, but I don't know what to do with him after that. The best option would be if he could lay low at Saobodie until the Timeskip, but I have to admit that having a verified B.A. Marine on call has some appeal…"

"-ary! Are you listening to me? I was asking if there's anyway I can help you on your trial?" I looked up out of my deep thinking to see Tyler looking at me with hope in his eyes.

I Steeled my resolve as I turned to look at him, and plainly say what was on my mind. "That depends… As a human being and a retired Marine, what is your personal brand of Justice?"

He blinked in confusion before scratching the back of his head. "Well, if I see a pirate that's causing trouble, then I'm obviously going to do something about it, but… well, I'm retired so I don't really have to worry about that too much."

I let out a frustrated sound, and just decided to level with him. "Listen, I can't tell you how I know this, but I can say that it will come to pass. In the East Blue a pirate crew is going to form, and they are going to do good things for the world. They're kind of the whole reason that I'm going there in the first place."

I saw Tyler's eyes widen as he took that in, and he looked as if he was debating something to himself. Eventually he looked up to catch my gaze, and I felt a strong aura start to roll off of him that firmly locked me in place. I felt the pressure start to weigh me down as he increased the aura. "Crap! Conqueror's Haki! He seems really upset!" His voice boomed in my ears as he slowly walked towards me again. "You were given a trial by Ozaron, and your first instinct was to join up with some pirates?!" He fairly bellowed in my ears.

I flinched, and started sweating in anxiety until I felt the pressure let off enough to let me speak. I hurriedly said my word before he skipped straight to the part where he steals the necklace, and takes over my trial. "Dammit, Tyler! Let me explain!" I felt the pressure lessen enough for me to stand up again. I looked at him with a mixture of gratitude and wariness. "They're good people, Tyler. The World Government won't agree with me on this, but they really will accomplish a lot of good things on their journey. I don't have many clues about what I'm supposed to do here, but I know far more about what they will do. So, that's where I think my trial is supposed to start."

I stood as still as possible while I waited for him to respond. He eventually let out a long sigh, and released me from the pressure of his Haki all together. I saw him drop down to his knees, and mumble something under his breath that sounded like a prayer or some kind of ritual. I just stood to the side for his verdict. "I can't say that I approve of using a band of pirates to complete Ozaron's trial… but I just have to have faith that you know what you're doing as the chosen…" He slowly stood up again to grab me by the shoulders. "I don't trust pirates. So, I just have to trust you and Ozaron. Now, tell me how I can help."

I let out a weak chuckle at the scenario we just went through. "I think I have a way. You see, my journey won't begin for at least another year, maybe two. So, I'd really appreciate it if you could help me train until we get to the East Blue. Then, I'll need to go out on my own. Having you alongside me will disrupt any foreknowledge that I might have about my journey. Do you understand?"

I saw him visibly deflate at my question. "That can't be the extent of my help! I need to help you in this trial if I am to receive any favor from Ozaron! There must be something else."

I did my best calm him down by patting his shoulders goodnaturedly. "Don't worry. That's just what I need for now. I'm sure I'll need your help eventually. It's just really important that you let me start this trial in my own way. Can you do that?"

He nodded reluctantly before running off, and returning with what looked like a transponder snail carrying case. He handed it over to me hastily. "Then take this, and as soon as you call me, I'll do my best to aid you in this trial." He then gave me a stern glare. "And remember. I will only assist you in the trial. Don't expect me to help you pillage towns or loot some poor bystanders."

I scrunched up my face in annoyance, and glared at him. "They're not those kinds of pirates, and I won't be either." I then settled myself down to nod appreciatively. "I do appreciate the gesture though. Thank you, Tyler."

He waved his hand dismissively before walking back toward the table to pick up a wooden staff. "Now! We can continue our training." He then began to expertly twirl the staff in his hand before adopting a stance suitable to sweep, jab, or chop with the length of wood. "There are many advantages to uses a blunt weapon like the staff. For example, it makes it easier to take someone down without actually killing them. A down side would be that using a staff becomes difficult in close quarters…" Tyler then went into lecture mode to explain some of the various pros and cons of the weapons he had lain out.

I didn't have to actually defend against any of them during the night, but come daytime, he proceeded to wallop me enough weapons knowledge to make Ten-Ten sigh in admiration. The bright side of all of this was that I was relieved from having to row the boat because he actually had an old fashioned kind of paddleboat motor that ran on what appeared to be an early version of the steam engine. When I found out about that I almost started crying from the unfairness of it all.

After my crying episode had ended, Tyler began to pound into me the advantages and disadvantages of each type of weapon he had on board, and boy did he have a lot. He had decided to teach me through the age old style of osmosis. He beats me with a weapon until I figure out how it works.

Which brings us to another week into our journey, and presumably almost through the Calm Belt. "Zachary, you need to be light on your feet when facing a dagger! If your opponent can use one effectively, then you'll barely feel the cut before you bleed out." He proceeded to whap me on the inside of my arm with a dulled blade to show his point. "And remember that if you can control the blade hand, then you can control the knife. So, close in. Grapple, and knock the blade away. You'd be surprised how many people lose their battle efficacy if they lose their weapon. Most people can't adapt to such things." He threw another pebble to smack me above my eye before slicing across my left thigh and laughing. "So, it's a good thing I'm teaching you all of this, huh?"

I scowled darkly at Tyler while I backed up to absently rub above my eye, and survey my opponent. "I get it. I get it. This is just more of your foundations that need to be lain." I felt my eyebrow twitch as I saw the positively smug grin he put on after I said that. "But can you at least tell me if you think I should stick to unarmed combat or take up a weapon?"

He let out an annoyed sigh, and tucked his dagger into his waistband. "I could say that the proper course would be to finish your basics before you move on to specializations, but then you'd just throw a temper tantrum all day." I really felt my eyebrow twitch at that comment, but he ignored it to continue his 'lecture'. "So, let me just ask you something. Do you need a weapon to win a fight? Or better yet, which weapon are you familiar with?"

I rubbed the stubble that had started to grow on my chin in thought; a little tic I picked up from Tyler. "I can see benefits to both using a weapon or not using one. Let me ask you, if I went unarmed, then wouldn't I be at a disadvantage against ranged attacks?"

I was happy to see Tyler about to say something before changing his mind and scowling at me. "Yes you would. BUT! That is only in the beginning, and would be the same if you used a weapon anyway. So, quick trying to get me to teach you the other five powers, and answer my question. How do you fight, and are you familiar with any weapon?"

I childishly stuck my tongue out at him about the other five powers. I just suggested one night that I could probably get better at training if he taught me some new moves. Moves that were like the iron body that I've been working on. "Fine. I'll drop it… for now" I whispered the last part under my breath for good measure, but I'm sure he heard me anyway. "I can see how fighting unarmed would lead to more freedom to act, but it would limit my fighting capabilities against an experienced fighter. So, I think I should use a weapon, but keep my hand-to-hand well practiced. As for what kind of weapon I should use? I think it'd be best to stick with something I can use for close combat to add to my fighting capabilities and still be applicable for ranged combat. So, I'm thinking weighted throwing knives. What do you think?"

I saw him scowl at me in what looked like disappointment. "I can't believe you'd pick something so small. Throwing Knives. Ugh!" He made a good show of acting like he was getting sick. "Fine. I'll get your toothpicks at the next island, and we can get them while we resupply. Of course, that's only on the condition that we ramp up your hand to hand to correct your… weapon choice."

I stared at man in complete confusion with my jaw hanging slightly open. "What do you have against throwing knives?"

He scowled at me like I had cursed Ozaron's name in vain. "They're not a man's weapon, Zachary!" He disappeared in a flash of speed I hadn't seen him use except on Sea Kings, and came back with a massive war hammer slung over his shoulder. "This here is a man's weapon. I call her Hrothgar, and we've been together ever since my basic training."

I saw the goofy grin he had been sporting behind his beard and came to a sudden realisation that hit me like a ton of bricks. I bolted over to the side of the ship to see my reflection in the water, and felt my blood turn cold. I felt Tyler walk over to ask, "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

I nodded numbly as I reached a hand up to stroke what had almost become a beard. "I'm starting to look like you…"

I saw the image of the a brown haired muscular man with no shirt, and shorts made out of some kind of leather, no shoes, and wild unruly hair that looked down into the water to take a look at the smaller reflection of a young man with brown hair, a growing beard, no shirt, shoes, and a pair of shorts that looked similar to his larger counterpart. I visibly shuddered at the image. "Oh god, no! It's just like Rock Lee! I'm going to spend the rest of my life looking like a caveman. It's all over. How am I supposed to get a girlfriend looking like this?!"

I suddenly felt a consoling hand on my shoulder, and saw the most sympathetic facial expression ever on Tyler's face as he told me in all seriousness. "Don't worry, boy. You can't even begin to pull off my look. You're just too… womanly."

I felt my back slam straight as I turned glare murder and death at the thoroughly unkempt man in front of me. "Like Hell I'm womanly! You're the woman you senile old caveman!"

He flinched at my tone before grinning at me sadistically. "Oh, don't worry. I think we can give you a nice haircut, and get you looking like yourself again. Boy."

I backed up hurriedly while Tyler pulled out the thoroughly dulled knife from his waistband to chase me around the ship yelling "Don't be a woman, and let me cut you, boy!"

-x-

This set a serious precedent in our training regimen. Every time Tyler found even an inkling of a beard he would work in a shave during practice. Sometimes he wouldn't even use a knife to do so. Once during hand to hand he would just yank them out periodically in between jabs. Another time he used a flail to get rid of them. Needless to say, I took it upon myself to keep my big trap shut.

We ended up stopping at an island once we made it to the Grand Line, but I wasn't allowed to leave the ship because I was "Barely qualified as a ship guard". He got me a very nice set of throwing knives that were promptly shut in a box, and locked away until i mastered throwing and using the not so nice set of throwing knives he also got. The good news is that there were almost a whole barrel full of knives to practice with.

Tyler also made sure to teach me as much as possible about sailing in the Blues as he could, and he even threw in a rundown on Marine procedures that may or may not be helpful in fleeing pursuit. I think that was his own way of saying he's come to peace with my future as a pirate.

Of course, the largest improvement I experienced in the training session was my marked improvement in my chakra reserves. Through all of the repeated training I had steadily improved my physical aspect to support a larger reserve of chakra, and the near constant mental torture of the flinch training had actually built up both my iron body technique and my mental resilience. I'm not positive that this is how Naruto would do it, but it did benefit chakra reserves.

So, the remainder of our trip was spent spent rehashing these basics until one day we found ourselves on the other side of the Calm Belt.

I hastily wiped the sweat from my brow as I ran to the railing to look around. To my disappointment, it was all just the same seawater as I had been seeing. I let a depressed sigh escape my lips when I heard Tyler speak up. "Well, I guess we'll be parting way soon, huh."

I wiped away my disappointment to firmly grip the throwing knife in my hand, and felt my chakra surge in excitement at the prospect of some kind of change. "Yeah, I guess we will." Turned to pull him into a quick hug before he could say anything else. "I can't even begin to thank you for everything that you've done for me. I'll be sure to call you in to earn your favor during the trial, Tyler."

I let go of him, and took a step back to see his eyes start to moisten, and I smirked at him. "You know, I didn't think men were supposed to cry, big guy."

I got to experience the wonderful moment of him realizing what he was about to do before he somehow sucked the moisture back into his eyeballs, and glared down at me. "You know what, Zach. I think it's about time you get to rowing."

I felt the blood drain from my face and slouched in defeat before turning to head over to grab the oars before I heard a loud splash off the side of the boat, and the sound of something dropping onto wood. I peeked over my shoulder to see Tyler holding my leather bag over edge with a sadistic smile plastered on his face. I hastily yelled over at him. "No! Don't drop it! It can't get wet!"

I felt my stomach drop as he let go, and I hastily leaned over the edge to grab the strap moments before it fell into the… rowboat? "Why is there… Oh, no! This isn-" I promptly felt a foot connect to my rear as I fell face first into the little boat. "Sunnuva…" I rubbed my face in irritation before looking up at Tyler in annoyance. "What's the big idea, you grumpy old bear?!"

He just laughed in his usual sadistic way, and chucked more of my belongings and some supplies down at me before turning around to disappear under the deck. "Sorry, but I really suck at goodbyes, young man." He then proceeded to turn the engine on to pull back into the direction we came from, and speed off into the distance.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N- Well, thanks to our wonderful training montage with a grumpy retired Marine, we can finally move on to a solo adventure! Where will Zachary Sewell go on his adventure next?!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, Naruto, nor any of their characters. I do own any

OC's that I write about.

 _ **Liberation!**_

-x-

I was left on the very edge of the East Blue with barely a week's worth of rations, the stuff I came into this world with, and the chest I had seen the very first time I met Tyler. "Huh, I wonder what's in the chest…" I scooted over to take a look and found the essentials to navigating the Blues; a compass, telescope, and what appears to be an astrolabe. I also found the set of fine throwing knives, a small leatherbound book labelled _Ozaron_ , a shaving kit (I knew he had one!) and a new wardrobe including one weathered Marine cap. "...He actually gave me his Marine cap. I guess I did grow on that old Bear."

I took the compass and telescope out before placing my leather bag, and the transponder snail's case into the chest, and pushing it into the back of the boat. I used the supplies to counterbalance it by putting them in the front, and then unrolling my map from it's case. I quickly found our old heading, and then aligned the prow north, sat the compass on the bench next to me, and began rowing.

I found the whole experience to be much less tiring without having to sprint back and forth on the deck, and almost found it enjoyable. I soon got into the rhythm of things, and silently planned out my trip while checking my compass every now and then. According to my map, there should be a small island without a proper name just five days away via rowing. That should give me some leeway in case I get off course.

I spent the next couple of monotonous days rowing in what I would consider a straight line for a third grader towards my first East Blue island. I tried to work chakra exercises into my rowing, and developed two practices that should be effective on a small cramped boat. The first is to just let chakra flow at a steady rate throughout my body for a length of time to try, and build endurance. The second is to use small bursts in my back, arms, and shoulders to optimize my rowing technique. I figured if I could get this down, then I could try to work it into my taijutsu after I make landfall.

So, when I had finally made it to my very first island in the East Blue I pulled the rowing boat up onto shore above the tide line, and pulled out my journal from back home. I had made a point to take simple notes of where I have been in this world. Kind of like a captain's log, except I'm not the captain.

 **Zach's Log: Made landfall at what appears to be deserted island in the SouthWestern part of the East Blue.**

Straight, to the point, and just the way I like it. I nodded my head in satisfaction as I stuffed it back into my chest, and pulled out a new wardrobe, my knives, and my leather bag. I put on a new looking pair of white cloth shorts, a gray shirt with buttons about a quarter of the way down the front, and some functional black sneakers. I stuffed my map case, transponder snail, telescope, my new religious tome, and some fruit and biscuits into my leather messenger bag before I turned to investigate the island. I hastily grabbed the cloth bag the fruit came in before I left in case I found some.

I slowly made my way into the forested area, and slashed a tree a couple of steps in to leave a breadcrumb trail. I followed what I considered as sage advice, and headed towards high ground. I ended going up a hill that spanned the majority of the forest, and was maybe fifteen feet above sea level. I gave it up, as bad luck, and tightened my bag to start to ascend the tallest tree around. I heard the birds at the top fly away as I made it into the canopy, and stuck my head above it. I looked around, and saw a very unwelcome sight.

In the other side of the island is a ship flying a Jolly Roger emblazoned with a pitchfork, and a trident instead of bones. I couldn't see the actual size of the ship, but I did see three masts sticking above the treeline. Which led me to believe it to be a decently sized ship. Which also means that it most likely has a decently sized crew.

I hastily checked my surroundings, as I climbed back down, and retraced my steps back to my boat. I needed to pull it farther ashore, and hide it before they realize that I'm here. I mean I left a Marine cap in my chest.

I sprinted as quietly as I could across the forested island only to duck down based on some instinct I'm not sure of. I hid behind a rock to see a party of four men poking around my boat only to haul the chest out. I saw one man in particular motion for the others to follow him. I cursed at myself mentally about not being more careful, and shadowed them into the woods. I did my absolute best to stay quiet, and found that if I trickle just the smallest amount of chakra into the soles of my feet, then I can effectively eliminate my footsteps. Gotta love ninja physics, right?

I gathered my courage to get closer to them, and hear them talk. "We just gotta get the chest back to the boss, and let him decide what to do about the Marine running around." I think it was the one who led the men who said this. He looked to be over six feet tall with grimy black hair and a mustache that resembled a caterpillar.

I saw the one who wasn't carrying the chest speak up. "How do you know there was only one marine, Sven?" This man looked like a burly little tank by the way he practically waddled with his muscles impeding movement.

The other two actually looked like twins right down to the scars on their faces, and had long blond hair braided into one long braid. It was the leader who responded again. "That's easy. That ship was too cramped to hold more than one unless they cuddled the whole time." I saw the Marine cap tucked into Sven's waistband.

I made a quick calculation, and decided that we were far away enough from their ship to fight with the hill to act as a smokescreen. I steeled myself as I swiftly climbed the nearest tree, and then leapt to the next one with a chakra enhanced leap while softening it with chakra as well. I hugged it tightly as I repeated this until I got ahead of the group, and found the perfect ambush point. I stealthily pulled my knives out, and stuck one between my teeth.

As the group came into view, I slunk into the shadows until the group had passed except for the man trailing behind as a rear guard, and dropped straight onto his back, and pulled out the knife from between my teeth to smack him in the temple while I covered his mouth. He let out a muffled grunt, and I flared my chakra to heft him over my shoulder before taking him out of site. I quickly took his weapon, and used his belt to tie him up before climbing the tree again. I went ahead of the group again in stealth mode.

As luck would have it, they noticed the change right around the time they walked by me. "Hey! Where'd, Carl go?" One of the twins questioned the other.

The leader spun on the spot, and drew his blade. "Oaf, Loaf, draw your weapons. We have company."

I saw them drop the chest, and put their backs to each other. Which left the leader by himself. I debated with myself internally, and decided to go for shock and awe. I lined myself up with the twins, and dropped onto them so that I straight up kick the side of their head with a chakra strengthened kick, and before the leader could react threw a knife straight into his right shoulder. I pulled out another knife to smack the hilt onto one of the twins temples to knock him out before jumping back, and dropping into a ready stance. I faintly heard a yell beyond the pounding of blood in my ears.

I swiftly pulled out another blade from up my sleeve, and threw it at the still dazed twin to stick it into his right shoulder as well. I think I heard his scream as well before he slumped over from what was most likely shock. I then turned to see the leader grimace as he yanked the knife out before throwing it to the side. I saw him shakily lift up his sword before charging at me. I let myself fall into the same state I was in when I trained with Tyler, and realized that this guy had no technique, speed, or even any power by the looks of it. I simple pumped chakra throughout my body to get inside his reach when he went for a vertical chop, and tossed him over my shoulder in a perfect fireman's carry before dropping him on his back, and smacking his temple as well. I then proceeded to hastily get my knives, Marine cap, tie the men up, and bandage the knife wounds with their ripped shirts. I slung the smallest twin over my shoulder with the chest on the other as I flared my chakra to escape back to the beach, and threw the them both into the boat, and pushing out to sea.

I rowed around to a small inlet, and moored the boat in a secluded spot before pulling some shrubbery out of the ground to conceal my boat. I then stowed my leather bag away with my concealed raft, and lugged the unconscious man into a secluded part of the forest.

I tested the restraints to make sure they were sound before shaking the man awake. I hastily clamped down on his mouth as he tried to yell. "I'll let go if you promise not to yell. I won't hurt you, okay?" I saw him nod vigorously. "Can you tell me your name?"

He nodded weakly before saying softly. "My name is Oaf."

I smiled a little at how this was going so far. "Can you tell me why you stole my stuff?"

He nodded again. Guess he really responds to a leader. "We're pirates. It's what we do!" He actually said this part with pride.

I sweatdropped at him, and then shook my head minutely. "What's your crew called? and how strong are you?"

He swelled up with pride again. "We're the Sea Farmers, and our captain has a bounty for 2 million Beri!"

I hastily clamped his mouth shut to stop his yelling. "How large is your crew?" I wasn't too worried about the captain. Even that mountain bandit from Luffy's backstory had a higher bounty. I just had to be careful of them ganging up on me.

I got this complicated look in his eyes like got lost in a corn maze. "I-I don't know. I'm not good with the numbers."

I almost felt my I.Q. drop at this statement. "Nevermind. I guess it doesn't matter too much." I looked him over critically for a second. "Say, do you want me to let you go?"

He nodded emphatically again at this. "Of course! I have to get back to my brother Loaf! He's not too smart, you see."

I nodded as if I understood what he meant. " _Oh, this poor crew… Today is going to end badly for you."_ I put a hand on his shoulder to act like we were commiserating. "Well, I've decided to let you go, but first we have to play a game, O.K.?" I saw him nod happily. "OK, It's real simple I'm going to have you stay here until the fire goes out, and then you need to start yelling for your crew to come get you. If you can get your brother Loaf to release you, then you win. The only way you can lose is if anyone but your brother Loaf lets you free. Sound good?"

I saw him adopt what I believe his impression of the thinker was before nodding happily. I then quickly put together a fire out of the driest wood around to reduce the smoke. I quickly sparked it into life before squatting before the Oaf again. "Remember. You can't start until the fire goes out." I saw him nod seriously before I turned to leave. with just a cloth bag tucked into my waist.

-x-

I ended up swimming out to sea, and coming back inland by their boat. Turns out that chakra enhanced swimming is pretty effective. I ended up hugging the hull of their ship until I Oaf start screaming from across the island. As soon as I felt multiple pairs of feet leave the ship, I wedged my knives into the wood to climb up and over the railing. Luckily, no one was around to see me. I quickly went to explore the ship, and found some dry clothes in someone's chest. I put on the rough looking blue jeans, and black shirt before I threw my wet clothes into the bag, and then scoured the chests for anything good. I didn't find any gold, but I did get a couple thousand Beri, and a bag of dried meat. I meandered my way through the ship, and kept my head down when I saw the crew.

" _It seems that no one was really on edge about me. That either means that group of three hasn't woken up, or they have too much faith in their captain."_ I thought to myself as I quickly found their supply room. I quickly loaded up my bag with fruit, and other staples for seafaring. While I was at it, I went ahead, and filled a second bag.

I then meandered my way upstairs to stow them in a corner of the deck, and started to head back down to continue my tour. When I was stopped by what looked to be the first mate by the way he was waltzing around the ship. "Hey! What are you doing with those supplies?"

I did my best impression of Coby, and stammered to explain. "I w-was just getting them ready for when the boss gets back, sir!" I hastily threw in an extremely incorrect and pirate like salute.

He seemed to grumble something under his breath, and then checked the bags. He seemed to calm down when he saw that it was just food. "I hope that's the truth. If I hear you stole that food just to pig out, then I'll be coming after you!" He then promptly turned around to look around for someone else to yell at.

I waited until he was out of sight before I stopped my Coby impersonation. Once he was gone, I turned to look at the section of ship he had arrived from. I decided it was most likely the captain's quarters, and made my way there. I checked my surroundings before sneaking in to find a chore boy sweeping the floor.

I audibly groaned at my poor luck as I saw him about to yell out for someone, and ran over to tackle him to the ground, and shut him up. "What are you doi-!" I smacked his temple to knock him out, and then tied him up with some rope I found before gagging him for good measure, and turning to inspect the room.

I grinned mischievously at what I was about to do. "I'm a pirate. It's what I do."

I was presented with a much nicer room than I saw the crew had. There was a bed big enough for three, a writing desk, and (best of all) a treasure chest. I did a cursory sweep of the desk only to find his wanted poster, and what looked to be a treasure map. The captain turned out to be a bald middle aged man with a majority of his teeth missing. I tucked the both of them away in the leather map case to be safe, and turned to search for any other hiding places aside from the obvious.

I found a wad of around 100,000 Beri stuffed under his bed, and tucked it away. Finally, I turned to the chest, and tried to open it. Unfortunately, it was locked. So, I had to do things the fun way, and I used my chakra enhanced muscles to pry the wood planks apart with my knife. I ripped a good hole in the lid, and flinched at the noise. I eventually settled down when I didn't hear anyone coming to investigate.

Inside the chest was a linen bag full of enough gold to probably feed Luffy for a day, a well-polished katana, a new looking rifle, and what looked to be a Marine uniform. I debated internally before throwing the uniform in with the gold, and equipping the katana threw my belt, and sling the rifle across my back. I looked around the chest again, and the only thing left was a small bag of ammunition. I hastily grabbed that before throwing one of the captain's cloaks over me to hide my accessories, and walking out of the captain's quarters like I belonged in there.

On my way out, I met the first mate again. He growled at me as he firmly stepped in my path to give me the stinkeye. "Hey, new guy! What were you doing in there?!"

I scowled back at him in frustration. "I was looking for the chore boy to help me take the food out to the captain, but he's hiding from me! Now, I got to do it all myself!" I said this in as frustrated a voice as possible.

I heard the the first mat grunt in acknowledgment. "Yeah, that chore boy is a real slacker." He glared at me again before growling. "Well? Are you waiting for an invitation? Go grab those bags, and feed the captain, new guy!"

I nodded hastily before scampering off to grab the bags like I assume Coby would, and walking down the gang plank, and into the forest. I quickly went out of site before doing a double check to make sure I wasn't dreaming. " _Man, I get why Nami steals from pirates. That was easy!"_ I sauntered off to where I stowed my boat to unload my supplies, and then took the cloth bag, and gunpowder.

I made my way back to the ship to find it on full alert with pirates running around yelling with weapons drawn. I kicked myself for not going ahead, and sabotaging the ship before I left. " _Let's see… My original plan was to start a fire next to the artillery, and watch the fireworks from shore. However, now that they're on alert, it's going to be much harder to keep their ship from chasing me down."_ I found a safe place to stow the gunpowder, and then made my way to the shoreline again. I decided to just pry apart their hull to keep them marooned for at least a couple of hours.

I stealthily swam underwater to the ship, and came up for air next to sides in a rare shaded spot. I quickly pulled a knife out to jam into the wood to hold myself steady, and then set to using my chakra enhanced muscles to pull apart a sizable hole in their boat.

Satisfied with the hole about half as long as I am tall, I went underwater to make my escape. I then began to stealthily make my way to the inlet where I stowed my boat. I made sure to fasten down all of newly 'liberated' supplies, and then charted a course for the next closest island, Logue Town. It was a two week journey from here, and I had the bare minimum as far as supplies went. " _I'll have to catch some fish along the way…"_

I set the oars into their fittings, and the started rowing due NorthEast under the growing cover of twilight. " _Hopefully, I'll be able to charter passage to Syrup Village after this."_

 _ **Zach's Log:**_ **Made landfall at** **what appears to be deserted island in the SouthWestern part of the East Blue** **. an island occupied by the Sea Farmer Pirates. Resupplied with some liberated goods provided by the Captain, John Wayfarer (** _ **2 Million Beri**_ **). Priority is to resupply, and chart a heading for Syrup village. Course plotted for Logue Town.**

-x-

I had thoroughly had it with rowing a small boat all alone in the freaking ocean. By the time I arrived at Logue Town, I'm fairly certain I would be willing to talk to a squirrel. Which is something I realized will not get me a spot on a ship when I walked up to the first I saw with my chest on my shoulder, and two weeks worth of words spewing out of my mouth. "Hey there, mister! Do you think you could give me a lift? I just got here on my boat, and could really use a lift! I can even work my way through, or pay you because I do have money. I just spent two weeks by myself, and boy! was that lonely, I tell you what! I gotta say, it is really nice to be able to see so many people around here! So, what do you think? Can I get a lift?!" I plastered a positively cheerful smile on my face as the man looked at me in befuddlement.

I saw him take a step back before looking around for one of his shipmates only to find them conspicuously busy with other things. I noticed his shoulders sag a little before answering. "Lad, I think our ship is full for this voyage."

I tried to to sway him, but only ended up yelling at his back as he walked away. So, I turned to grumble to myself, and picked up my chest to try another ship at port.

I made my way down the docks asking where a ship was going until I actually found a ship headed for Syrup Village. The only problem was, "Sorry, youngun. We're not setting sail for another week." The tall blonde merchant scratched his head awkwardly. "I think we could take you with us, but we won't be putting you up for free. I'd suggest you go find an inn, and then bring us 1,5000 Beri for travelling costs. Sound good?"

I nodded somewhat reluctantly. "I can do that, sir. My name is Zachary Sewell by the way. I'll be back in a couple days to make sure nothing has changed!" I promptly turned to leave. No sense bargaining over a done deal. I meandered my way across the town until I found a building with a sign hanging out front with a bed emblazoned on it. "This must be the inn."

I walked into the inn to find it eerily empty except for the old woman seated behind the counter. "How can I help you?" Was the weary welcome I got from the said lady.

I shrugged it off, and tried to sound chipper. "I was wondering how much it would cost to stay for a week in one of your rooms."

She jerked her head up to look at me quizzically before coming to some kind of realization. She switched from tired and worn out to downright enthusiastic to have a customer. "Well, that's easy! We only charge 8000 Beri a night here."

I blinked in surprise at that. "Excuse me for this, Miss, but most inns charge around 2000 Beri don't they?" I eyeballed the place around me to see what made this place special. " _I'm almost positive on the exchange rate between here, and my home. It should be roughly around 1:100 if the amount on supplies Tyler spent was 1,5000 Beri here, then I would have paid maybe $150 for that amount back home."_

She seemed a little disappointed at my response. "Should have known you were just new to town." She huffed out a sigh, and sat back with a more neutral expression. "We charge more here because this inn used to be the birthplace of none other that Gol D. Roger." She paused to smirk at my astounded expression. "Yeah, this is where he grew up. That's how we can charge so much for a room." I motioned around the empty room with a raised eyebrow. "Well, we used to be able to at least. Ever since that new Marine Captain came to town, anything even remotely pirate related has been forced to leave town."

I quickly apologized for bothering her, and looked around for another inn. " _I guess that means Smoke is already in town… I guess it doesn't matter much to me. I just need to avoid breaking any laws."_ I smacked my forehead. " _I should really read up on what the laws are in this world. I mean the only for sure one that I know of are: Don't disobey the Marines, and Don't disobey the World Government. It'd be nice to get a little clarification on what that implies sometime."_

I eventually found a whole row of inns near the docks, and felt like crying from all the time I wasted going in a circle. I chose one at random, and booked a room for a week to be safe at 2000 Beri a night, and threw in an extra 1000 Beri to get food delivered to my room. I then threw my chest in my room, removed my bag of gold, and stuck it into my leather satchel with some other essentials, and went to look for clothes, weapons, and some kind of literature.

Finding a clothing shop was the easiest part. I just had to listen for women loudly yelling, and I found the bazaar. I know, it's kind of a mean thing to say, but it weirdly worked in this anime-come-real world. I wound up picking out a variety of dark toned shorts, and henley tee shirts to wear. My priority was clothes that would maximize stealth. I even picked out a set of desert and winter island clothes just in case. I wasn't looking forward to bargaining with Nami in the future. I especially picked out what looked like sandals from Naruto to try out.

After clothes shopping, I made a detour to drop them off at my room, and headed out to look for a weapons shop. I eventually made my way back to the bazaar, and walked around until I saw a sign with a sword crossed with a hammer as a sign. I walked in to find a mature red bearded man behind the counter sharpening a katana. I nodded politely to him as I perused his store.

I quickly found what I was looking for, hidden weapons. I found an assortment of small throwing knives, shuriken, senbon, and a variety of other weapons. What interested me the most was the spool of flexible wire resting on the back of the shelf. I quickly tested the balance of some knives, senbon, and shurikens before taking the whole spool to place in front of the man.

He looked over my selections critically before looking me over oddly. "You don't see many hidden weapon specialists these days."

I shrugged noncommittally, and scratched my head awkwardly. "I'm not exactly a specialist. I've been trained with throwing knives, and close quarters combat, but I'd like to add some variety to my arsenal."

He seemed to relax a little at my proclamation of not being an expert, and nodded along to what I was saying. "A little variety, huh?" I saw his face light up as he went into the other room to rifle around in, and then come back with a small box. "This is something I found special on a merchant ship from the North Blue." He gently placed the box in front of me to reveal a pair of black gloves that appeared to be woven from something like the flexible steel wire, but with little nubs on the knuckles. "They look just like a normal pair of gloves, and can parry a sword if used correctly." He motioned towards the nubs. "And up here is an artifice to act like brass knuckles without restricting hand movement!" He pushed the box a little closer to me. "What do you think? That's the perfect variation for a close quarter specialist. Nothing will surprise your opponent more than when you deflect their own blade with a glove to knock them out with brass knuckles!"

I carefully pulled the gloves out to give them a once over. They looked like they had some potential. At least until I could find a way to teach myself Haki. I was also starting to see some ways to improve them given I had enough time to experiment with them. "How much would all of this cost me?" I asked as I placed them back in the box beside the rest of my selection.

He pulled out a piece of paper to write some things down, and eventually came up with a number. "I'll give you everything here for 115,000 Beri. That's a deal. Trust me."

I shrugged somewhat reluctantly. "I can see that…" I handed over some of the gold, and he gave me some Beri in change. I thanked him, and put everything into my satchel. "Oh, do you happen to know where I can find a bookstore?" I suddenly remembered something and added. "And a place that sells gadgets or spare parts?"

He rubbed his beard like I had seen Tyler do before, and pointed towards the south. "There should be a bookstore that way. It's the one with a scroll as the sign. They have decent prices there." He then motioned across the street. "As for spare parts and gadgets, you'd have more luck trying the store across the street. They sell odds and ends."

I bowed quickly before turning to leave. I quickly headed across the street to the store indicated, and was met with the smell of rust, and machine oil. It really brought back memories. " _This really brings me back to working in the garage with my dad. I wonder if I can whip up something useful here."_

I looked around to find bins of spare parts, and an assorted mish-mash of little gadgets across the room. I slowly worked my way around the room, and started pulling odds and ends out of the bins to try out something later. I also pulled out a workable tool kit with everything I would need to tinker. I quickly paid the attendant, and left for the book store.

At the bookstore, I found an assortment of informational books on the Marines, World Government, and I also tried to find stuff on the Yonko or Revolutionaries, but found very little. I decided that the majority of these books were likely to be propaganda, but decided to look for some truth anyway.

Loaded down with all of my purchases, I wound my way through the city to go back to my room, and organized everything to fit in my near full chest. I attempted to lift it, and found it to be much heavier than before.

Done with my shopping, I decided to try something I'd been meaning to for a while now. This being the first real downtime I've had since I received chakra and all. I sat cross legged, and attempted to control the flow of chakra. I had gotten pretty good at reinforcing my movements with it, but I knew how pitiful an accomplishment that actually was compared to what it could be. I calmed my nerves before taking a scrap of paper to place on my forehead, and trying to make the paper stick with chakra. I failed the first time. I also failed the second, and third, and fourth, and on and on.

Late into the night I was still practicing until I heard my stomach growl, and stopped long enough to eat some passable food they served me. I kept this up until I started to get dizzy, and then I slept. The next day, I tried it again, and found it stuck for all of about five seconds. I counted it as a win, and went down to get my breakfast.

The next three days were spent in a mixture of studying, tinkering, familiarizing with my new weapons, and paper training.

Eventually, I remembered to head down to check on the ship, and found that they would be leaving early. Like, this afternoon early. I thanked my lucky stars that the storm was going to hit the day after I checked in with them, and not the day before.

I ran back to the inn to negotiate a refund, and then hurried back to the ship with my chest over my shoulder. I looked around energetically as I saw the crew preparing to take of for Syrup Village, and happily stowed my chest into the small one person cabin I had purchased. I quickly locked it up, and went on deck to help out with my now considerable experience on sailing.

I saw the man I chartered the trip with walk over to me with a smile as he saw me working. "See, if you had said you could work your way over, then I'd have given you a better deal! Haha!"

I shrugged it off, and said excitedly. "I actually have some things to take care of during the trip. I just wanted to make sure i didn't forget the basics. You know?"

I saw him nod emphatically. "I understand what you mean." He turned to point out East at something only he could see. "Well, we're about to cast off for Syrup Village. Are you ready, Zach?"

I smiled widely as I looked off towards where I knew Luffy's hometown to be. "Oh, I think I'm getting there."

 **Zach's Log: Stayed at Logue Town for 4 days to charter a merchant ship to Syrup Village, and stock up on essentials. Course set for Syrup Village.**


	4. Chapter 4

A/N- Well, it's about time for our main character to meet THE main characters! Oh, and in case any of you were wondering, this isn't a Self-Insert. I did take an element or two from my life to make Zachary Sewell, but he is his own man. He also has height issues; especially since he is barely 5'5"! I'll let you all guess if that was an element from my life or not! xD

Heads up, I probably won't be able to keep posting a chapter a day anymore. I'll be starting spring semester soon, and will probably have my hands full with that. I will take time to sketch out the chapters, and write them in my free time.

Future Hendrix- I wasn't intending to make the story fast paced, but I wanted to try and get a normal human up to Anime standards without losing reader interest. Thanks for the review! I'd love to hear more reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, Naruto, nor any of their characters. I do own any OC's I include.

The Devil Fruit.

-x-

The monthlong trip towards Syrup Village was largely uneventful. I broke in my new weapons at night, finished my books, started some designs for a hidden weapon, kept in shape, and progressed with my chakra control. The largest improvement in my chakra control was that I had begun using it to boost certain muscles without realizing it, and incorporating that into my taijutsu. I felt my reserves really start to increase as I started using chakra throughout the day.

It was then that I realized that chakra was like a muscle too. If you wanted to improve it, then you needed to exercise it. So, I started using it for all of my movements. I even incorporated it into my footsteps to reduce the sound when I walked (Ninja Physics!). All of this work helped to build dexterity and stamina in my chakra control.

That's how when we finally arrived outside of the Gekko Island, I was using chakra without a thought in all of my movements. When I unloaded my chest to carry ashore, it felt distinctly lighter. I had to look through it to make sure all of my stuff was still there.

After helping the crew moor their ship and unload, I was approached by the man I had negotiated a ride with, Ali. He walked over to me, and reached over shake my hand firmly with a smile on his face. "I got to say that I am sad to see you go. It was nice having another capable hand on board. Even if you did read a lot more than I consider healthy."

I smiled widely at Ali, and punched his arm playfully. "Don't worry about it. I don't think you reading would be healthy either, Ali. Haha!"

He scowled in fake anger only punch my arm in response. "Anyway, the boss said you did enough work to earn your trip. So, we're giving you a refund." He handed me a small wad of bills, and I nodded appreciatively. He turned to look at the island with me. "You know what? I never did ask you why you were going here. Care to share?"

I shrugged in answer and said to him as I walked away. "I've got an adventure to prepare for."

-x-

In the middle of Syrup Village is a small restaurant called Meshi. It was actually really cool seeing all of the things from the anime in real life, and terrifying the first time I caught sight of Usopp's nose. It just looks unnatural.

Anyway! Back to the restaurant! I was currently using some of my wages from the Ali to pay for my meal, before asking the waitress some important matters. "Excuse me, Miss. Who would I talk to about taking residence on the island?"

I saw the lady tilt her head in interest with the ever-present smile the food service industry encourages plastered on her face. "Well, we don't have a mayor or anything like that, but we do have the manor up the hill. I guess if you had to ask with anyone it would be with the Miss, but…" I saw her smile falter. "She is going through some family problems at the moment." She straightened her back to smile a little more forcefully at me. "I suggest you start there, and remember to be polite, Mister!" I think she might have winked, but I never can tell with women.

I sat back to sip on my fruity drink in thought. "I guess Kuro already got her parents. It's too bad I didn't make it in time to fix that. It was one of the things that I probably had some decision power on. Either way, I need to go up to the mansion to get the O.K. to start building my house. I also have to act like the butler isn't a homicidal maniac… joy."

I let a weary sigh escape my lips as I made my way out the restaurant and up to the mansion. I found the gate being guarded by some intimidating guards. Well, intimidation for most people. I couple probably just sneak past them. I felt their gazes latch onto me, and try to determine if I was a threat or not. I tried to look as meek as a Coby. I think it worked because they didn't attack me on site.

The burly one on the left, let's call him Lenny, addressed me while the one on the right, Raph, glared at me. "What do you need from the Miss?"

I smiled cheerfully at the two of them. "Oh, it's not too terribly important. I just wanted to go build a house somewhere, and, seeing as there isn't a mayor, was suggested that the mansion would be the proper place to seek permission."

I saw Ralph look questioningly at Lenny, and then turn to walk into the house. "We'll ask Klahadore to come out. The Miss isn't feeling well."

I kept my cheerful grin on my face, and bowed a smidge in thanks. "I appreciate it, Mister."

Then, we proceeded to stand in awkward silence until Ralph came out with a tall gentleman with a butler's outfit on. I nodded politely to him, and saw him do the same. "I'm told you wish to take up residence on the island?"

I smiled cheerfully towards the homicidal manservant, and nodded. "Yes, sir. I would appreciate it if you all could help me out with that."

He made a motion to push his glasses up his palm before speaking. "I don't see any reason why you can't live here, but you'll be responsible for building your residence. as to where you'll live, I don't believe anyone will mind you living out by that orphan." He gestured vaguely to the outskirts of town. "If you want to know where that is, then just wait for the little bastard to start screaming, and follow him home." He then promptly swiveled and walked away.

I slowly unclenched my fist to smile disarmingly at Ralph and Lenny. "Any chance you could explain that yelling part?"

Lenny just looked at his watch, and then held up a hand to start counting down. 5...4...3...2...1… "PIRATES ARE COMING!"

I flinched at the volume, and then turned to see a blur on the horizon running through town. "Oh, I guess I should go get him." I hefted my chest, and waved goodbye to the duo. "Thanks for the help, guys!"

I quickly jogged my way to town, and followed Usopp's tracks to see him rolling on the ground holding his gut while three children laughed along with him. I just walked up to him, and dropped my chest on the ground with a thud before sitting on it. I saw them all jump up and aim their 'weapons' at me. "W-Who are you evil doer?! Trying to sneak up on the Great Captain Usopp and his men?!"

I blinked slowly before looking them over and smiling in excitement. "I'm actually meet Usopp! This is awesome!" I held my hands up in defeat, and let a laugh escape my mouth. "Haha! That's awesome! You're their leader?" I motioned to Usopp.

I saw his chest swell up with pride. "Of course! I am not only their leader but also the captain of over 8 million men!"

I deadpanned at Usopp. "You're lying."

They all jumped back in fright while Usopp started to cry. "He saw through it!"

I burst out laughing so bad I had to hold my stomach. "Oh, gosh! You guys are too funny! It's too much! hahaha!" I was genuinely laughing at his antics. It's hard to embrace your kid side when a bear takes you through bootcamp, and cross half a Blue with a rowboat. It felt good to finally, truly, relax my guard.

Eventually, I stopped laughing to see them smiling back at me, albeit a little awkwardly. I choked back my good mood enough to talk again. I wiped a tear from my eye. "Hi, I'm Zachary Sewell. I'm going to be your new neighbor!" I saw the four of them look around in confusion before I pointed at Usopp. "He said it was the one doing the yelling"

I saw comprehension flash across their faces, and Usopp's light up in excitement. "That's great! I can tell you all about my tales on the high seas!"

I nodded along to what he said, and then slung my chest over my shoulder. "Sounds good! Then, I can tell you some of mine. They aren't that interesting though. Pretty boring actually." I waved my free hand around in a vague gesture. "So, where can I build my house?"

The little kids jumped up in excitement. "You've been on the high seas?!| I heard Carrot ask me.

Onion jumped up to ask excitedly. "You're going to build your own house?!"

Pepper also got up to question me. "How old are you? Are you like the Captain, and lying about everything?"

I heard Usopp fall to the ground at the last question only to get back up to yell at them. "Stop asking everything at once!" He yelled at them if good natured anger.

I watched with interest as Usopp led us down a path out of town while the kids tagged along to listen to my answers. "Well, I've been in sailing since early January, and it's… what June? So yeah, I have spent some time out there." I pointed at Carrot then moved to Onion. "Yes, I'll build my own house. If I didn't do it, then where would I sleep?" I finally moved on to Pepper. "I'll be 20 in July! And I've no idea if my lies are like your Captain's!" I smiled cheekily as they took in my last answer.

Usopp looked over his shoulder ask me a question of his own. "Why are you coming to live here if you were already out there on the ocean?"

I felt my smile sink a little. "Two reasons. The first is that I made a promise, and I'm not able to fulfill it yet. The second is because it is so BORING out there all by yourself!"

I saw him look at me in what looked like excitement. "Are you saying that you're looking for a crew?!"

I waved him off with my free hand. "No, not yet. Good try though." I smiled as I saw a house at the end of the path. "So, do you mind where I build my house?"

I saw him look around the place, and shrug. "I don't mind as long as you give me some space."

I nodded quickly and turned to a forested place a good 100 feet away from Usopp's to throw my chest down, and pull out a hatchet before locking it back up. I promptly took my shirt off to begin cutting trees for lumber. I saw the Usopp Pirates hang around for a bit, and discuss something in private before taking of to play some kind of game.

That left me alone to gather lumber. I quickly amassed a good amount of wood with my chakra enhanced swings. I then took to notching the log like I remembered a toy from when I was little, Linkin Logs. I made the grooves so that they could be the walls, and then I went to find stones to build a foundation. I ended finding a couple of large stones that I carried back to lay flat, and then used smaller stones to flatten out a string base. I made sure to leave a rectangular space that could hide my chest in before I shored up the stones around it with some sailing tar to make it waterproof.

The next step was to lay the walls down, and I did that. By the end of the day, I had a drafty three walled frame up. I looked on in appreciation, and slept under the stars that night.

Of course, I was woken up the next day by a loud call of "PIRATES ARE COMING", and felt like decking Usopp. Luckily, he didn't come around until after I had fully gotten awake. I saw him look at the house in amazement. "You did all of that in a day?"

I nodded proudly. "Yeah, it wasn't easy, but I think it should work."

I saw him start looking over the edifice. "What's that hole for in your foundation?"

I pointed over to my chest. "To hide my treasure." I shot him a grin when he realized what I meant.

He practically ran to the inspect the chest. "Really?! You have treasure? How did you get it?"

I frowned at him seriously. "Hey, Usopp! I thought we had a deal? You tell me a story, and then I tell you one."

I saw him pause for a second before smiling. "Have I ever told you about my adventures to the island that never stayed in the same place?" I shook my head to let him continue. "Well, one day I was sailing with my men when we happened upon an island moving as fast as our ship! So, we did…"

Usopp and I traded tales while I worked on my house, and he even gave me some suggestions to improve it. So, together we ended up finishing my log cabin in another day. I made my bed, desk, and some chairs the next day, and relaxed on the one after that. I somehow convinced Usopp to go to the mansion to keep the timeline intact. "It seems me being here could have prevented his friendship with Kaya… I'll need to remember things like this. I have until stay here for another year. I think I remember Luffy setting out on his birthday. Which I'm almost positive his birthday was in May. So, I have some training time."

-x-

I eventually fell into a routine where I woke up to a call of "PIRATES ARE COMING", did my daily exercises with some friendly sniper fire to help train my iron body (It wasn't easy convincing Usopp and the toddler trio to throw rocks at me), practiced my chakra control, and then I would either spend time with the Usopp Pirates, reread my books, or tinker. My first week there was a little hectic, but I eventually settled into a nice routine.

After my second week in my new home, I finally mastered the tree climbing exercise. I had long since advanced past the sticking a leaf to my forehead, but didn't have the privacy to practice until now. I rejoiced mentally as I ran up and down the forest, and occasionally upside down.

I finally dropped to the ground to rest against the base of a tree, and take my necklace off. It was time to test something important. RHD had told me that if my power matured enough, then I would be able to open the necklace. I could only interpret that to mean when I had enough chakra control to channel it into the seastone.

I tentatively channeled my chakra into my hands to try and permeate it into the stone, but it felt the same as last time. Like there was no way to saturate the object with chakra. I scowled in disappointment as I put the necklace back on. "It looks like I'll need to do the water walking exercise. if that doesn't work, then I might have to start some kind of crazy chakra control training like the Rasengan… Come to think of it! It wouldn't be a bad idea to do that anyway. I mean it's not like I have any jutsu I can use, and that technique is just straight chakra manipulation!"

I felt myself getting excited at the prospect of whipping out a Naruto signature move. i quickly built up an enthusiasm towards the next step, water walking.

My newfound determination didn't change my routine much except for me taking some time away from reading to work on water walking. Unfortunately, something did end up changing my schedule. Usopp got curious about my training regimen, and happened upon me walking out to sea, and back. Needless to say, I had a lot of explaining to do. "Listen, Usopp. I can tell you all about why and how I can do this, but you have to promise not to tell anyone, OK?"

I saw his frightened face turn contemplative for a whole minute before he nodded shakily. "Fine! I won't tell anyone, but you have to tell me everything!"

I nodded quickly and checked our surroundings. "Well, I guess we should start with chakra. Chakra is the ambient energy of all living things. I just happen to have the ability to manipulate the energy within me to do things like increase my physical aspects, silence my footsteps, walk up walls, walk on water, and so much more than I've already done! Did you follow me?"

I saw Usopp look me over with interest as turned to look at the water where I was just walking. "So, every living thing has this chakra? Does that mean I could walk on water too?"

I shrugged helplessly and threw my hands up in defeat. "I don't know, man. Honestly, I barely know how to make it work for me. I'm mostly following my gut on this. It's not like I have a teacher."

I saw Usopp pout at my answer, and then barrage me with a plethora of questions that I promptly answered or demonstrated for him. I finished it all of by plopping on the ground, and looking over at him quizzically. "So, are you going to keep my secret? You can't even tell your girlfriend about this."

I saw him blush and the glare at me. "She's not my girlfriend!" Then his face turned serious. "And yes. You can trust me with this, man."

I smiled happily at him, and punched his arm playfully. "Thanks. I'm glad."

He punched me back. "It's no problem!"

We sat there talking for a bit until Usopp went home to eat his dinner. When he was safely out of earshot, I went sprinting full speed back to my house to lock myself inside. I quickly drew the blinds, and sat at my desk with my necklace in hand. I sent a quick prayer to any gods that were listening, and started to channel chakra into the necklace.

I felt my chakra rub against the necklace, but this time the barrier felt porous instead of an inviolable wall. I tried concentrating my chakra into a point to ram into the wall, and felt a trickle of chakra leak into the necklace. The whole thing began to slightly glow, and I excitedly repeated the process. After an hour of gradually increasing the brightness of the necklace I finally got it filled to saturation, and then the necklace went dark until it started to spin and tumble like a rubix cube.

I numbly watched as the necklace unfolded itself into a flat piece of stone still covered in etchings, but with a perfectly round grape resting in the middle. The only odd thing about the grape was that it was decorated with small swirls. "Holy mother of… It's a devil fruit."

I stared at it in awe as I reached down to gently pick it up. "I guess now would be the time to eat it, and get this trial started… RHD said that I'll need it to stand a chance…" I slowly took the fruit close to my open mouth, and firmed my will to swallow when there was a loud *BANG BANG* on my door that made me jump in surprise.

An unfortunate side effect of said surprise is that I swallowed the grape whole, and it landed safely in my stomach. I froze on the spot waiting for any changes until I heard more knocking. "Hold your horses! I'm doing something!" I quickly inspected my body, and didn't feel like anything was out of place. I found it odd that there wasn't a change, and shrugged it off for now.

I turned to answer the door, and found Usopp standing where the door was. I blinked in confusion, and then saw the door again. I shook my head to clear my mind, and walked over to see a naked Usopp standing on my doorstep holding a globe of soup. I hastily jerked my eyes away to find that my cottage had disappeared, and staggered a step only to bump into the doorframe. I felt Usopp grab my shoulder to lead me inside, and I'm fairly sure he was talking to me, but I didn't hear a thing until he slapped my face. "What's wrong with you?!"

I felt my mind clear, and motioned to the empty dirt where my desk used to be. I watched in horror as Usopp's skeleton turned to look. "Grab that tile with the string attached. Please." Saw the skeleton walk on air to the dirt to grab a grey stone to hand to me. I instantly felt tire, but also saw the world return to normal around me. "Thank you, Usopp."

He looked down at me with concern as I sagged with lethargy, and hastily helped me to bed, and closed the door. "What is happening? Are you sick?"

I shook my head tiredly. "No, it's just what Sea Prism Stone" Here is where I waggled the tile at him. "does to devil fruit users."

I saw him nod in understanding before freezing in astonishment. "Did you say Devil Fruit?!"

I yawned at him while I nodded. "Yeah, I just ate one. Thanks for that by the way." I glared at him.

He looked betrayed as he questioned me. "What do you mean by that?! What did I do?"

I swung an arm accusingly at the door before slumping back down in bed. "Your loud knocking scared me, and I swallowed it."

He leaned forward with stars in his eyes. "Really?! Then what can you do? Is it something cool like flying, or shooting lasers from your eyes?"

I grimaced at his words. "I'm getting the impression it is the eyes, but for right now I'm not positive what it is except for *ahem* X-ray vision." I saw him look at me confusedly until realization hit him like a locomotive and I hastily held up my necklace. "That's why I'm holding this! To prevent anymore emotional scarring."

He nodded emphatically to what I said, and then held up a pinky. "This never happened."

I solemnly nodded at him in response. "On one condition." I saw him nod his head reluctantly to me. "You don't mention what I can do just like with the chakra."

He quickly gripped my pinky to seal the pact. "It's a deal. Now, tell me where you got the dang thing, Zach!"

I smiled awkwardly at him. "This is a part that I have been wanting to avoid for a while now… You see, I was chosen to take a trial of Ozaron. I don't expect you to know who that is, but just think of it as a God. My trial is to save the family of the man who gave me my chakra, and this necklace. I was only told three things. That there is a devil fruit I will need to use in the trial in the necklace. The necklace will only open when my chakra has matured. The final tidbit was that to accomplish my trial, is something even the man who passed all of this on to me couldn't accomplish."

I let him sit there for a while to digest everything. He finally looked up at me. "Do you really believe all of that?"

I nodded firmly to that question. "Beyond a shadow of a doubt."

He looked conflicted. "Why? What proof do you have that this cult is playing mind games with you?"

I let out a nervous chuckle. "I think you should refrain from using the C-word. It might upset someone. Heheh." I scratched the back of my head awkwardly, and decided to make a leap of faith in my new friend. "I don't think you want to know how I know this, but just chalk it up to divine intervention. Sometime next year, Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, and Nami will come here to take you on your first step to following in your dad's footsteps. I'm just here to hitch a ride." I smiled sheepishly as I said that last part.

I studied him carefully as he processed what I had just said. He face actually looked like a blank slate when he replied. "I'm going to be honest with you, Zach. I don't know what to believe about you and your god, but I'll wait a year to decide. Sound good?" I nodded reluctantly. "In the meantime what can we do about your eyes? They're freaking me out."

I blinked in confusion before pulling a knife out of my sleeve, much to Usopp's surprise, to look at my reflection. The eyes looking back at me were completely white throughout. I saw the reflection's eyes widen in surprise, and I dropped the knife. I looked at Usopp and put on a sickly smile. "I think this might be a permanent thing with my new powers… Sorry." I looked around quickly only to frown. "Although, I could wear sunglasses over them. Do you have any?"

He pulled his bag around to rifle through, and pull out an old pair of dark purple sunglasses. I shrugged, and put them on. I was pleased to see Usopp nod in satisfaction before standing up. "Well, I just stopped by to bring you some of my leftovers. I'll just go so you can get used to your eyes without having to see… you know" I saw him shiver as he walked out, and I locked the door behind him to sit at the table.

I quickly ate, and then took the sunglasses, and necklace off to try, and figure out my eyes. I found myself staring the wall of my cabin until I felt my focus shift almost like it was trying to correct for blurriness. The next thing I knew was my cabin wall going transparent, and letting me see the forest outside. I blinked, and felt my eyes adjust somehow to looking back at the cabin wall.

I spent the next couple of minutes looking around between blinks to try, and get a feel for the way that my focus shifting would activate the powers in my eyes. I kept this up until I felt I had a decent understanding of how to focus. I closed my eyes tight, and then opened them to look at the wall again. I tried to focus on my own, and saw the wall disappear along with some of the soil, and some trees. I felt a grin tugging on my cheek.

"I have pure white eyes and chakra. I think that Devil Fruit gave me Byakugans! I wonder if I have the whole 360 vision thing…" I closed my eyes tight, and then opened them while trying to take in my peripherals, and felt like I had been shaken by an tremor for a second as took in every detail of my cabin around for split second before I ended hurting my eyes. I hastily closed them, and waited a few seconds to try again. The same thing happened again, but for some unknown reason, I felt like I held it for maybe a fraction longer.

I felt a laugh escape my lips as I went to my bed to lay down whilst training my new powers. Eventually I felt tired from staying up so late, and went to sleep.

-x-

That night was a weird one for me. I kept dreaming of a star filled sky, and a forested cabin. I kept having that one scene flash through my dreams until it was all I saw. Eventually the sun rose, and I saw brown blur in overall take off for town. That blur came back to the cottage at one point only to yell "PIRATES ARE COMING!".

-x-

That would of course be the point in which I woke up from my dream to look past my cabin walls at Usopp running along the trail towards his house. I hastily turned away before I saw through his overalls.

I winced at the headache I was sporting. It felt like I had been kicked in the head by a mule, and it took everything I had to make my way to the center of the cabin. I did a quick sweep to see myself alone, and pulled up the floor board to reach into my chest. I rifled around in there until I pulled out a red and white bottle labeled Tylenol I popped one in my mouth, and threw the rest in the chest.

I groaned as I went to my cupboard to pull out some fruit for breakfast. I plopped down at my desk to munch on my fruit while the medicine kicked in. After about a half hour, I closed my eyes to review. "Last night wasn't a dream. My eyes kicked in while asleep, and let me see a 360 view of my cabin. That tells me that there is something about the sleep cycle that coincides with that particular power… I know that they fall into the REM cycle, but it didn't seem like my eyes were actually moving. It was more like they opened up. I should practice relaxing my vision instead of focusing it like I do to see through things."

I cleared my mind, and steadied my breathing before opening my eyes to let them loose focus. I kept calm as I felt the corners of my vision expand in a gentle way. This experience was nothing like yesterday's tremor during each try. The best part was that I wasn't feeling a headache coming on either. I slowly let my vision cover 360 degrees before I found a branch sway in the wind. Once I noticed the branch, I ended up focusing on the branch until it came into sight with such clarity that I saw every nub on it. I enjoyed the view for a second or two until it eventually faded away to let me see behind it.

I closed my eyes, and repeated the process. I expanded my vision for as long as possible, and then when I broke it I would hyperfocus on whatever it was until I saw through it. I kept this cycle up all the way through the day, and only stopped when Usopp came knocking again. I put on my necklace, and sunglasses before opening the door. I found him shuffling his feet by the door. I cocked my head at him in confusion. "Is everything okay, Usopp?"

He looked as if he were debating something internal, and then turned to me with hope in his eyes. "I had a something I wanted to ask you…" I waved him into my cabin, and poured a fruity drink for the two of us; which I consider quite an honor. I also remembered to grab some dinner real quick since I skipped lunch. While I ate he worked out what he was thinking. "I'm not sure that I completely believe you about the whole mission from God thing, but on the off chance that it's… well you know…" I saw him straighten his spine to speak the next part. "You said that I go to sea to follow in my dad's footsteps. Does that mean I'll actually get to be a brave warrior of the sea?"

I put down my food to smile at him. An act that no doubt must have looked creepy with dark purple glasses on. "Are you sure you want me to tell you this stuff? It would take some of the excitement out of the journey."

I saw squirm on his seat as he debated internally again before stealing his nerves. "I don't need to know anything like that. I just want to know if I'll really make my dad proud."

I chewed my words over in my head before answering in as serious a voice I could muster. "I don't know what words your dad would say about you, but I can tell you that he is already proud of you. That's a fact."

I saw his eyes moisten up a little, and didn't know what to do in this situation. I settled for patience. He eventually calmed down to look me in the eye, and ask something serious. "I want to train with you. I see you doing it everyday, and if you think it's going to be that dangerous, then I'll definitely need it too!"

I tugged awkwardly at my necklace. "Listen, I'd love to spar with you , but until I get control of my eyes, I don't think I should fight. Another thing is that the reason I train so much is because I know how weak I am. I mean I know I can handle a couple of the cannon fodder, but if we meet anyone really tough, then I'll be nothing better than morale support. As for your training, the best I could do was help plan you a solo regiment until I get fit to fight."

I saw disappointment flash through his eyes, and was again amazed at how well my eyes work now (even while suppressed). "That's fine. I think I can come up with my own training."

He stood up to walk out the door, and I stopped him before he left. "Hold on. I have something to help you." I went to my chest to pull out the Sea Prism Stone weights that Tyler used on me. "If you wear these, then it will feel like you're underwater. They'll help build your endurance." I saw him accept them gratefully, and then walk towards his house in contemplation.

"I wonder what kind of changes this will have on the timeline… I really have to do something about the whole Kuro thing as well." I settled in at my desk to pull out my tool set. "Well, in the meantime, the best I can do is prepare for the wacky danger filled life as a Straw Hat." I pulled out my box of gadgets to pull out what looked like a vambrace with an open mechanism with springs and gears on the bottom. I carefully closed the mechanism, and then released a latch to see a blade spring out of the front. I let a smile come over my face until I tried the second latch to pull it back in, and heard something jam in the vambrace. "I think I can make this work eventually. I just need to put more time in, and then find a way to compress the springs enough without noise, or having to crank something. It'd be a heck of alot easier with some dials…"

I spent my free time that night tinkering around with my Assassin's creed style hidden weapons, and tried to make a holster of some kind to both hide my throwing knives, and make them easily accessible. This was how I decided to put my knowledge as a college engineering student to use. I tried my best to toy around with recreating or designing new hidden weapons to use. I had briefly considered using the katana I stole -ahem, I mean liberated- from Captain Wayfarer, but couldn't decide if learning how to use a sword on my own was such a good idea. If I really need it, then I'll have to ask Zoro.

I wound up sleeping at my desk with my wrist blade dangerously close to my nose when my alarm clock ran by. I shook myself awake, and decided today was perfect for someone else to make me breakfast. I caught Usopp on his way home. "Hey, do you want to get breakfast at Meshi's? I'll pay."

I saw him smile gratefully while sucking air after his run, and then we heard the toddler trio run up to us. "Wonder what they want?" I heard Usopp finally say.

Carrot screamed at us when we were in earshot. "It's bad, Captain! There's pirates on the South shore!"

I blinked in surprise at that, and turned to look at Usopp. His knees were shaking, but he held a firm fist in the air as he loudly proclaimed. "Well, let's show them they can't mess with the great Captain Usopp! To arms, men!" I watched interestedly as they ran towards the shore.

I rubbed my chin in thought. "I don't remember a pirate attack until after Luffy showed up… I wonder what changed?" I shrugged indifferently. "If they're here to cause trouble, then I'll have to either fight or evacuate the village. I should go see what they're made of first though." I turned towards the cliff overlooking that shore, and took off my necklace.

I quickly focused past the trees, and tried to see through the rocky cliff to the ocean, but it seemed that I had reached a limit. "Well, it looks like if I focus in one direction, I can see about 200 meters. I think that might be a record for suckiest Hyuuga." I gripped the suppression inducing rock in my hand as I ran toward the cliff. I adjusted my grip to the metal chain to let my eyes zoom in on the Jolly Roger. It was a skull with a pitchfork and a trident crossed in the background.

"It's those Sea Farmers! How did they find me?" I quickly reviewed my memories of that day, and found something shocking. "What the heck is going on?!"

-Sea Farmer Pirate's Ship-

I wedged my knives into the wood to climb up and over the railing. Luckily, no one was around to see me. I quickly went to explore the ship, and found some dry clothes in someone's chest. I put on the rough looking blue jeans, and black shirt before I threw my wet clothes into the bag, and then scoured the chests for anything good.

-x-

I blinked in confusion as the perfect recall of that day filtered out of my mind. "Did that Devil Fruit give me perfect recall?" I tried out my hypothesis, and thought back to a couple of different things.

-Going Wild, Calm Belt-

I fell numbly to my knees as I heard the tell-tale signs of an engine starting. I vaguely looked over to see a paddle boat style wheel start to turn at the back of the boat. Tyler walked out to see my depressed state, and laughed evilly at me. "You didn't think I would cross the Calm Belt with just a couple of oars did you?"

I did myself the favor of slapping my own face when I felt something wet slide down my cheek. "Why did I think I could trust him…?" I tired to wallow in my own self pity, but my rowing muscles screamed at me for the injustice of it all, and forced me to glare at the bearded devil in front of me.

-Home, Sweet Home-

I came home from a friends house to find my mom sitting alone in the living room. I threw my bag on the ground, and walked over to hug her awkwardly while she was sitting down. "How was it? Did you have fun at Andy's house?"

I nodded happily at her. "Yeah, his parents left us money for pizza, and we got to walk his new puppy around the neighborhood. I saw Mr. Lindell out for a jog." Mr. Lindell was my very… stoic math teacher. He enjoyed this one kind of humor where everything he says is in monotone, even his rampant sarcasm. It was actually kind of funny after a while.

I saw mom smile a little. She worked at the school as well. So, she knew how rare it was to see him acting normal. "That's nice. I bet he enjoyed seeing you guys."

I smiled back at her with a chuckle. "He looked at us while running by, and said 'Shouldn't you be studying for the quiz?' I found that especially funny since we didn't have a quiz before then."

-x-

I blinked in confusion at the random memory from home, and then rejoiced at the possibilities this had given me. "I can just look over all of my memories to plan for the future!" I hurriedly reviewed what I knew about the pirates off the shore, and then ran back home on chakra enhanced legs. I threw my weapons on with some of my gadgets, and then ran towards my first fight in a long while. I was actually so excited that I didn't notice the necklace I left sitting next to my tool box.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N- I'm sure that you all are _SUPER_ happy to have me post so soon again. It's about time for things to get real for our main character, and to figure out a little bit more about his eyes!

Hufflepuff Badgers Don't Care- Thanks for the review! I was afraid Zach would crack under the pressure if I didn't get him to laugh! I also tried to think of all of his preparations as evening out the playing field with those monsters he'll meet later!

 _ **Pirate Attack**_

-x-

The run back to the cliff face was uneventful, but it did give me time to plan out my course of action. I was going for a simple surprise attack. Luckily, I knew that I had a diversion in the Usopp Pirates.

I used a smidge of chakra to not quite stick to the cliff face, and repelled down it until I was standing on the water. I slunk my way behind a rock to observe Usopp do his thing.

I prepared to go when I saw Sven hop off with the first mate and who looked like the bounty poster I stole. I vaguely heard them talk with the trees before the toddler trio started shaking the branches.

I took that as my cue to dash from cover to cover until I got as close as possible to the ship. I looked around to find nothing but open ocean between me, and the three masted behemoth. I saw the landing party yelling something at the Usopp Pirates, and thanked any deity listening for Usopp sticking to his tricks.

I flared the chakra in my legs to sprint across the intervening distance, and almost made it to the ship before someone saw me. I heard a whining yell across the distance. "There's a demon running on water!" I decided to ditch the stealth act, and threw a knife across the distance with chakra enhanced arms to skewer the offending pirate's hand to the railing.

"Aaaah! It got me! It's going to eat my soul!" Screamed that poor pirate. I leapt from the water to the deck, and slid into my fighting stance before the majority of the crew wised up.

"Not a demon, sorry." I quickly yanked the knife from the, now holey, priate to elbow him in the face on my spin to dodge a thrust from his crewmember. I vaguely saw him fall from my peripherals, and noticed another crew member lunge at me with an axe over head in what looked like a fraction of a second slower than he should have been.

I stepped into the man's personal space to pop him over the head with my brass knuckles. I saw his eyes roll back, and then kicked him in the chest to push back his friends. With the space my kick gave me, I let loose with a barrage of shuriken, senbon, and knives. I took out a good three or four pirates before they closed the gap again.

I had to stretch my vision to around 180 degrees just to keep up with them all, and even that was pushing my limits. I kept seeing the edges of my vision flicker in and out. To make up for it, I tried to take the pirates down one on one, and with the simplest moves. I mainly focused on parrying blades with my gloves, bashing skulls with my knuckles, and I even managed to pierce someone's leg with my hidden blade to take him out of the fight. The downside was that the blade didn't go back in until I jammed it against a behemoth's armor to lodge it deep inside the mechanism.

Tossing the hours of work it'll take to fix that, I put my all into attacking my opponents quickly, and decisively. I occasionally saw black pellets flying at my opponents every now and then. I even saw a big old lug trip on one letting me knock him out. I thanked my lucky stars for the ranged support.

Eventually, I found myself on a pile of bodies with three irate pirates glaring at me. I waved my arm tiredly at them. "Hey Sven, first mate, and Johnny! What brings you all to town?"

Sven glared dangerously at me, and yelled as he rushed at me. I huffed in annoyance, and slipped past his wild right hook to pull the same fireman's carry into a toss over the railing of the ship. I heard a muffled splash before raising an eyebrow to the other two. "I remember him being tougher the first time."

John held his arm out to keep his still unknown first mate back. "It took us quite a while to fix that hole you made, boy." I heard his voice, and was surprised to see that it sounded like what I always imagined a monk's voice to be like.

I felt a smile on my face. "I just thought we would get along better if you well… never saw me again." I shrugged helplessly, and directed his attention around us. "And look what happened, here! I had to help all of your awnry pirates take a nap." I shook my head in defeat as I saw how he wasn't fazed at my goading. "Damn, monk." I cursed. "Fine, what did you want? Oh! how did you even find me. I want to know that too."

He pulled his arm back, and turned to circle me with the firstmate. "We obviously came here to string you up, and bleed our money out of your corpse." It was oddly terrifying hearing that in a monk voice. "As to how we found you…" He lunged forward at the same time as the firstmate. "Why the hell should I tell you?!"

I ducked and rolled hastily to avoid the Captain's slash with his wooden staff, and ended up getting sliced on my arm by the first mate's katana. I opened my vision wide to observe the two men work concert to try and corner me. It seemed to be working too, as I had to work to my utmost dodge each attack.

I quickly found myself against the railing, and knew things were about to get messy. I managed to parry the first mate's thrust, but took a swing to the ribs from the captain. "Dangit! That hurts!"

I kept dodging the other blows with fancy footwork, and noticed that Usopp had stopped firing. I didn't put much thought to it though because Sven had just managed to climb the side of the ship, and latch onto my ankle. "Dammit, sneaking up on my blinds- oof!" I grunted in pain as the dang captain hit me on the other side of my chest. I ended up falling to one knee, and the first mate took advantage of that to slash me in the side.

I noticed them backing off to let Sven climb up, and then they carried me in front of the captain. Sven had my left, and the first mate had the other arm. Johnny spent a good minute just punching me all over before speaking in that odd voice of his. "Now, where's the stuff you stole from us?"

I coughed harshly as blood flew out of my mouth. "How'd you find me?"

I finally heard some anger in his voice as he tried to punched the air out of my lungs. Luckily, I remembered to flex my muscles into what I think Tyler called a 'Tin Body'. It helped to alleviate the pain, but still knocked some wind out. "Where's the uniform?!"

I blinked in confusion before wheezing out to him. "That's what you wanted?" I smiled crookedly at him, and let out a deranged giggle at the absurdity of it. "You chased me for over a month just to get a uniform?!"

I felt another wave of pain as he let his frustrations out on me. Finally he composed himself, and squatted in front of me to speak. "That is a Marine Captain's uniform, boy. With it, we were going to show those scum they call Marines that our pirate crew is worth more than 2 million Beri!" He motioned at the crew and ship around us. "When was the last time you saw a crew this big worth so little?!"

I stifled the smile I was feeling to question. "But, Johnny, how can they be worth more than that if it only two people took them out?"

He slammed a fist right into my nose, and I knew he broke it when I felt blood pour down. He flat out yelled to make his point. "That's because you're a demon! Don't think I didn't hear what my crew said! 'There's a demon running on water!' 'He's gonna eat my soul!' I know what you are now." He glared with anger, and a hint of fear at my eyes. "Only a demon would have eyes like those… bloody red like murder…" I saw him shiver as he walked away.

I blinked in confusion at his comment. " _My eyes aren't red? Why would he say that?"_ I looked around for anything reflective, and eventually found a blade in the distance. I focussed on it, and blinked in surprise as a pair of white eyes looked at me with a newfound red tint to them. I saw them widened in shock as the color started to turn blue, and then green before settling back on white again.

-Usopp's P.O.V.-

" _Why did I ever talk to this lunatic?!"_ Usopp practically whined in his head as ran towards a better vantage point. " _I mean he does the craziest stuff! He's always training for God knows what, Literally!"_ He deftly made mis way across the distance to the ship. Luckily, none of the pirates were paying attention to him. They all seemed to be too busy… torturing his friend. Okay, maybe it was too lucky.

" _When all of this is over, I'm going to have to talk some sense into him! Who jumps on a pirate ship to pick a fight?"_ Usopp then proceeded to jump onto the pirate ship before freezing. " _Well… that answers that question."_ He quickly made his way around the scary pirate captain who was currently heating up a knife with a fire from his gunpowder star.

" _I just need to get to a high location with a clear view of them, and save that idiot friend. Even if he believes he's God's messenger or something, he's still the best friend I have."_ Usopp felt a fire start to burn in his gut as he looked at the tallest mast on the ship. His spine straightened out, and he ran full force at the thing befor putting all those times sneaking up to Kaya's window to good use.

He quickly found himself positioned above the enemy in time to see the captain gloating about something. Usopp had to think hard about what his next move was. He knew he could take out one or two of them, but not the third. He had to hope that Zach was quick enough to take action, or he'll be the one getting his… eye cut out? " _Oh my God!"_ Usopp hastily pulled out his extra-strength gunpowder star's.

-Zach's P.O.V.-

I was still focused on the new development in my eyes when Johnny came back out with a ornate knife that was glowing red like it just came out of the smithy. "I don't like those eyes one bit, boy. So, I'll make this easy for you. Tell me where the uniform is, and I'll leave you alive."

I flared my chakra to reduce my fatigue, and found that I probably had a quarter of my chakra left. "I really would tell you, but you forgot something." I spat a glob of blood on his deck before ducking down hard onto the deck. "I said there were TWO people who took out your crew!"

I felt more than saw a flash of something burning to my left and right as Usopp yelled from his new vantage point on the crow's nest of their ship. "Gunpowder Star!" I felt my arms regain mobility, and tackled the captain to the ground. I made sure to isolate the knife with a chakra enhanced grip. I distinctly heard a cracking noise as the knife fell to the ground, and then I decked Johnny straight in the nose with brass knuckles. I smirked a little as I saw his eyes turn white, and blood trail out of his broken nose. "Now we're even Johnny boy."

I turned around to see the other two pirates covered in flames, and smelling like sulfur as they twitched on the ground. I spared them the discomfort, and knocked their lights out for them. "There, there, you can sleep now. I'll take care of everything."

I waved at Usopp to come down, and liberated the captain's wooden stave as a walking stick. "That was great timing, buddy! I would have been in trouble without you!"

He slid down the mast to join me in aftermath to look around in wonder. "How did you do all this? I know I helped you out, but you sure did more than me!"

I shrugged it off until I felt some blood spurt out of my wound. "Ah, hold on." I ripped part of my shirt to hand to Usopp. "Can you bandage me up? I can't reach around."

He nodded helpfully, and started clumsily tying my bandage on. "What do we do with them?" He motioned vaguely around us.

I grinned a little as I looked around. "Now is the best part! We get the spoils of war." I squatted down, and began to tie up the pirates with steel wire, and then put them all together. I liberally used my x-ray vision to search them for anything that could get them out of the wire. Something I never want to do again, by the way. "There we go! Now we can take our time."

Usopp and I then proceeded to do three things. Loot anything valuable, throw their weapons overboard, and break anything that would let them sail. "It kinda stinks how poor they were, huh? We barely got 500,000 Beri from everything including their jewelery."

I saw Usopp sweatdrop at my words. "We robbed them blind, and you want more… What have I gotten into?"

I smiled with a little forced cheer. "Oh, don't be like that! You know you had fun." I looked around curiously to see the anchor. I quickly threw the chain overboard to release the ship from it's moorings, and felt the tide drift it away from the island. "You should head back. I have something I need to ask the good captain."

He nodded happily, and ran off with the spoils to a little rowboat, and started speeding away. I saw him doing so with mixed feelings. "I'm glad he's safe, but does he need to abandon me so easily?" I shook my head to avoid thinking too much about something that wasn't broke. "Now, Johnny boy. Care to tell me how you found me?" I turned to look at the fully awake captain glaring at me with a mouth gag.

I yanked it out for him to speak. "Why should I?" He spat out at me.

I smiled evilly at him. "Well, you weren't awake for it, but I effectively crippled your ship. Now, you could always drift along with the tides, and hope you don't starve before landfall, or I could help you out of this mess. Your choice."

He looked around us skeptically, and started to notice the broken masts, rudders, and oars laying all around. He grimaced at the state of his ship, and glared at me. "Fine." He spat out like a curse word. "It was easy. You went to the closest island, Logue Town. We did the same hoping to catch a lead, and loe and behold, some schmuck told us about a punk talking the ears off of anyone who'd listen about needing a ship to syrup Village." He gloated a little here. "Honestly, it would have been harder to try and NOT find you."

I felt my ears redden at this part, and scratched my head awkwardly. "Huh… guess I screwed up there." I stood up to pay off my bum, and walk over to the railing.

Johnny started to wiggle around in his bindings. "Hey! You said you were going to help us out here!"

I waved at him lazily. "I know, I know. I already told the Marines about a wounded crew of pirates drifting by Gekko Island. Give them a day or two, and you'll be fine." I hopped over the edge to the pleasant sounds of a monk howling in rage at me. "Aww, what a beautiful day."

I quickly made my way back to shore to see Usopp triumphantly standing with a leg raised on the loot while the toddler trio oohed and awed at his story. "I knew my friend need me, and so the Great Captain Usopp selflessly charged aboard the ship, and took out a two thirds of the enemy all by myself!" I almost tripped over myself as I heard that. " _It's technically true… He took out two of the three…"_ I shrugged it off as Usopp being Usopp. He quickly took notice of me, and threw an arm around mey neck in companionship. "And here he is now! Together we took down a pirate crew! Everyone will soon know our names!"

I shifted uncomfortably as I brought up something important. "actually, it's important that no one knows what we did. Even when I called the Marines, I left out our names."

Usopp looked torn between doing as his friend wanted, and finally being see as a warrior of the sea. "Why?" he weakly asked.

I pulled him aside to whisper to him. "If people find out that we're strong enough to take out a pirate crew, then something bad might happen before Luffy gets here."

He looked confused until I name dropped Luffy, and then he looked serious again. "This has something to do with your trial?"

I wavered a little on the inside. I could pass off all of this to the trial, and he'd probably accept that, but this is more about making sure Kuro doesn't kill us all before Luffy gets here. "Not exactly… It's more for the safety of... " I gulped and decided to bite the bullet. "Kaya"

I saw his face take on a hint of paleness before I saw steel fill his eyes. "We're going to talk about this. I'll help you convince the kids, but we need to sort this out."

Usopp then turned to the toddler trio seriously. "Men, what happened today must stay between us, do you understand?"

Carrot jumped up a little angrily. "But if we do that, then no one will know how great a hero you are!"

Onion and Pepper yelled in agreement until Usopp stomped his foot loudly. "You should know by now that true warriors aren't judged by words, but actions! I don't need them to know about this to make myself feel good!" I watched on in awe as he spun gold from that silver tongue, and left the three of them nodding vigorously with stars in their eyes.

Usopp then convinced them to leave by some kind of means that I didn't quite catch as I was inspecting the loot. I found it was mostly wads of Beri or jewelry. I didn't find anything interesting this time, but was still happy with the money. "You ready to tell me what's going on?" I heard Usopp say once they left.

I waved a hand at him placatingly. "Don't worry. I'll answer your questions. Let's just get this money somewhere safe." I saw him nod as I started to walk back home. I got maybe five steps in until I felt the edges of my vision go black, and my adrenaline start to wear off. "Sorry… I think this conversation might have to wait-" I didn't get to finish because that's where I fell on my face.

-x-

I woke up to the smell of clean linen, and that nasty medicine smell doctors always have. "Ughhh, My everything hurts." I groaned as I tried to unsuccessfully sit up. I tried to open my eyes, and found that I was blindfolded. I scoffed slightly at that, and focused my eyes to see through them. I found myself in Usopp's house with him sleeping on a cot. I was sprawled out on his bed. I think my revival woke him because he soon started to stir. "What happened?"

He sprung up at the sound of my voice, and walked over to my bed. "What do you mean what happened?! You fell asleep for three days!" I felt my jaw hang open as he started listing things off with his fingers. "I had to convince the doctor you fell from a cliff! You have contusions, abrasions, blood loss, a concussion, broken bones, you were exhausted, and I think the doctor even said you lost a tooth."

I waggled my tongue around to find everything where it was supposed to be. "Must not be a very good doctor…" I tested my limbs now, and flared my chakra to reduce fatigue. "Huh, I feel a little better than I did after my first day training with Tyler."

Usopp groaned audibly at my words. "You're not taking any of this seriously are you?"

I grinned happily, and unwound some of my less than necessary bandages to stand up. "Not at all. I'm alive, right?"

Usopp sighed heavily, and handed me sunglasses and a my necklace. "I found these in your cabin. Now sit down. You're obviously healthy enough to answer some questions. I've been stressing out about what you were telling me about earlier."

I squirmed a little under his intense stare, and sighed heavily. "Ok, what do you want to know?"

He looked me in the sunglasses, and spoke. "Is Kaya in danger?"

I nodded easily to that question. "She will be."

He jumped up to yell at me. "Then, we have to save her! How is she in danger?!"

I tried to placate him with my hand gestures, but he was already pacing back and forth in the room. "Easy there. She's not in trouble yet, and doing anything right now will probably get us all killed."

He stopped dead in his tracks to look at me in disbelief. "Really?! We just took out a crew of pirates! How ,much danger is she in, Zach?"

I shrugged helplessly. "if you sit down, then I'll tell you." I nodded gratefully as he did so. "Well, in about a year, when Luffy and co. get here, the butler is going to try and take her estate. He'll have his old crew attack the town, and Kaya will die in the confusion leaving him with all the money." Usopp's face drained of all color as he slumped in his seat. "BUT! If Luffy is here, then he can stop him. Together with you, his friends, and I guess myself, we can save Kaya, and make sure no one even knows he was a psychotic killer."

Usopp sat with his head in his hands for a long while before looking at me with steel in his eyes again. "Why can't we go take care of the butler now?"

I stared back at him with the same intensity. "If we do that, then we'll be the first to die. His real name is Kuro of a hundred plans. He was a pirate captain that had a bounty of 16 million Beri. That's eight times the crew we just faced. I almost died just from those losers."

I saw Usopp struggle with what to say to this. "I… Are you sure he's that tough?"

I nodded seriously. "I'm positive. He could us both before we even had time to fight back… The best thing we can do right now is make sure he doesn't see us as a threat. If everything goes like it should, then Luffy will take care of him, and we can take care of the crew."

Usopp sat down with a heavy sigh. "I just… I don't like the idea of Kaya being that close to him…"

I gritted my teeth. "Usopp, if you go tell her what I just old you, then it only ends one of two ways." I held up one finger to show my point. "One: Kaya believes you, and then Kuro moves up his schedule before we're ready to fight back." The second finger goes up. "Kaya doesn't believe you, and you lose any trust she had in you. Oh, and Kuro slips by to kill us in our sleep for good measure."

Usopp visibly stiffened at the frankness I spoke about our deaths with. He stayed silent for a long while, and I thought he might not say anything at all. "So, we just act like everything's normal, and trust in your god to send us a pirate?"

I put a hand on his shoulder firmly. "Yes. We need to have a little faith in our lives. Plus if there's one thing I can trust in this world, then it's Luffy sticking up for his friends."

Usopp cocked his head to the side. "But we're not his friends… why would he help us?"

I smiled happily at this tidbit of foreknowledge. "That's easy! He knew your dad, and he needs a ship!"

Usopp looked confused about the ship, but happy about his dad. "Really? What was he like? Can you tell me about him?"

I shook my head firmly. "That's something Luffy should tell you."

Usopp was finally starting to look forward to meeting his future captain, and also looked to be starting to believe in me. He settled down somewhat to gesture softly to my eyes. "By the way, what was going on with your eyes on the ship? They kept flashing red, blue, and green. Except, they were all really muted by your white."

I reached up under my sunglasses, and shrugged. "I don't know. I remember it being a lot easy to get them to work, but also harder to control. It was like they were stuck on overdrive. I felt like I saw everything no matter what." I let out a sigh. "Well, almost everything. I couldn't get them to see a total 360 degrees."

Usopp's jaw was hanging open. "Wait, what do you mean by 360 degrees. I thought your eyes just let you peep on girls!"

I felt my face heat up, and smacked his head. "Stop it! I would never!" I scratched my cheek awkwardly. "Doesn't mean it hasn't happened… but! I never did it on purpose!" I hastily defended.

Usopp waved it off. "I don't care about that! Just tell me about your cool new eye stuff!"

I blinked oddly at the stars shining in his eyes. "Well… Ok, you already know about the x-ray vision, I can also see a lot farther than before, I think I have photographic memory now, I can also extend my periphery vision all the way around… It might be starting to increase my reaction speed…" I trailed off as Usopp started to squirm in excitement.

He jumped up to grab me by the shoulders. "I think I know what that fruit was!"

I blinked in confusion before getting just as excited as him. "Really?! What is it?"

He ran over to pull out a book from work desk. "I went to borrow this from Kaya the other day, and was looking through it to, you know, get ready for being a warrior of the sea. Anyway, this sounds like…" He paused for dramatic effect as he turned to a certain page towards the end, and pushed the book in my face. "The Vision-Vision fruit!" He quickly pointed out an artist's sketch of a bundle of grapes on a vine. "It says here 'Little is known about this mysterious Devil Fruit, but previous owners were known to refer to themselves as having Aaron's Eyes'. Isn't that the name of your God?"

I felt my face twitch at his word usage. "... I wouldn't call her MY God… She is the one who gave me this trial though. Or at least one of her friends… I don't know!" I reached over to take the book for inspection. "That's all it says? How did you connect my abilities with this Devil Fruit?"

He smiled smugly at me, and I instantly regretted asking. "Well, my dear friend, when one such as the Great Cap-"

I hastily slammed the book shut with an audible smack. "Without the gloating, please?"

He blushed a little before pouting. "Fine. Your abilities sounded almost godlike to a sniper like me, and that made me remember your Go-" He cut himself off at my glare. "That a certain God's name was Ozaron. I then connected it to the Devil Fruit, and there it was."

I watched as he was about to start gloating again. It was easy to tell because he always puffs his chest out, and adopts a 'manly' facial expression. "Easy, easy, buddy. I get it, you did it!" I cracked up laughing at the hot air that escaped his mouth in a sigh. "Seriously, thanks for this. At Least I know what it's called now." I carefully sat my necklace on the nightstand. I handed him back his book after flipping through each page to test something out.

I leaned back in the bed to close my eyes, and tried to recall what I knew about Zoan Devil Fruits. I felt a smile tug at the corner of my lips as I saw each description flash by in milliseconds. I felt my vision take on a bluish tint, and bolted straight up in bed. "Usopp, what color are my eyes?" I ripped of my glasses.

I saw his eyes widen in surprise. "They're a whitish blue! How did you do that?!"

I smiled a toothy grin before pumping a fist in victory. "I memorized that book, and when I recalled it, they changed colors! Do you know what this means?" I jumped out of bed easily ignoring the cramped muscles, bruises, and cuts. "They must change colors when I use different abilities!" I quickly let my peripherals extend out, and looked to Usopp in expectation. "Well?"

He looked at me like an idiot. "Well, what? They're still white…"

I facepalmed at this. Why would the Byakugan be anything other than white? "Okay… So, X-ray vision, and 360 view fall under white. Blue must work with my photographic memory… what were the other colors?" I blinked, and felt my eyes turn bluish more than saw. "Right, red and green."

I saw Usopp looking at me with confusion as I walked out the door. "Hey, where are you going?! You're still injured!"

I waved him off. "Oh, I'm fine! I have to figure this stuff out first!" I quickly left behind a properly befuddled sniper to jog home. I quickly dug around in my cabin for a mirror, and then began the arduous journey of playing with my eyes. Yeah, maybe it wasn't all that arduous, but it did take a while.

I quickly found that when I used my eyes to memorize, or remember something they flashed blue. If I used them to track the motion of something like a cup I knocked over, then they flashed red. I still hadn't managed to make them green, but I knew that it was just a matter of time.

I likened the flash of red to maybe the beginning stages of Sasuke's Sharingan. Except, it had no predictive capabilities. The most I had was a small boost to my reflexes. I found the blue helped me not only with my memory, but I think it also helped me think better. Like logically, and whatnot. I likened it to something akin to a knowledge boost. Whereas the plain white is probably the most useful, and what I've come to consider default. It's your garden variety Byakugan.

I also found that when switching between the colors, I tire myself out faster. Unlike my 360 vision which just gives me a headache. I determined that the colors were like me actively using my powers, and my default can become something I could use long term if I grew accustomed to it.

All of this experimentation really helped to determine my training schedule. It also helped me with controlling my default powers. I think something just clicked when I switched between red and blue because I soon felt like there was a way to flip it on and off as well.

After playing around for the rest of the night, I went to sleep for what I knew would be a busy day. I wasn't disappointed either when I heard my alarm clock run straight to my house after his run. I grumpily opened the door to throw my lunchbox at him. "About time you got here! I've been waiting!"

Usopp looked in the box in confusion. Inside was a lunch for two. "What? How did you know I'd show up?"

I deadpanned at him. "I saw the look in your eyes. You want to protect your girlfriend. So, let's go train." I smirked at the blush on his face. Man, that never gets old.

He sputtered indignantly before relenting. "Ugh… Couldn't you have been a little nicer about this?"

I smiled in my approximation of Tyler's sadistic smile. "Where's the fun in that?"

Usopp visibly shivered at the chill in the air. "What have I gotten myself into?" He whined to no one in particular.

I smacked him happily on the back as we walked towards the forest. "I'm glad you asked! You see, while you are a good sniper, you absolutely stink if they get close to you. So, we're going to make sure to fix that problem!"

Usopp brightened up at this. "Really?! How do we do that?"

I smiled as he walked into my trap. "Easy! We make sure you can outrun the bad guys!" I gently pried the lunchbox out of his hands to throw on the ground. "and as we all know, experience is the best teacher." I smiled evilly as Usopp started to catch on.

He hastily backed away from me. "N-now wait a second, Zach! W-we can talk about this!"

I flicked my wrist to make a knife appear, and started walking towards him. "Now, I know this will be difficult, but just pretend I'm a bad guy, Okay?"

He turned to run away with tears in his eyes. "But you are a bad guy! The absolute worst! OW!" He cried out as the blunted knife I threw at him smacked him on the rear.

I smiled happily as I pelted his rear with blunt projectiles. "Huh, now I get why Tyler seemed so happy all the time… I should grow a beard." I stopped my assault to forcibly slap myself in the face. "Dear God, what did I just say… That man should start a cult…" I shivered at the mere idea of me becoming his Rock Lee. " _I need to get ahold of myself before it's too late."_ I shrugged it off for now, and chased after the crying sniper.

I sighed happily in my chase. " _And the training begins in earnest…"_


	6. Chapter 6

A/N- Hopefully everyone is Okay with this Time Skip. I've been really looking forward to this chapter since I started the fanfiction! I hope you all like how I've portrayed Luffy and co.!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, Naruto, nor any of their characters. I do own any OC's I write about.

 _ **More Pirates?**_

-x-

I was currently jumping from branch to branch with chakra enhanced jumps in search of a certain nosey sniper, get it? I digress, I was currently searching for him because we found out early that my eyes tend to make his training close to impossible. I had one simple job; to find Usopp, and pepper him with blunted weapons.

This training regimen is one that I have come to enjoy less and less. The first time was great, I ended up carrying a black and blue teenage home on my back. The times after that left a sour taste in my mouth as Usopp started to counter attack. I started to hit him less and less, and he started to hit me more and more.

I could say that I was proud of my friend, but, honestly, I was starting to get upset with myself. I'm supposed to be a ninja. I was literally given chakra from some kind of divine force, but little to no way of using it. I got the basics of chakra control down pat, and had steadily worked my reserves up over the year and a half here in the One Piece universe. However, the method to making a jutsu work has still eluded me. The best that I've done is reinforce my weapons with chakra.

All of that is a little outside of the point I was trying to make. Usopp has made tremendous gains compared to me. He is a legitimately natural born sniper. I gave him some live combat scenarios, and he's taken to them like a fish to water. You know, except for when I catch him.

That's also another point that he's improved in. He's leaps and bounds better at running away. His speed is good enough to lead me on a chase. He's also improved his skills. Half the time, it's not a chase scenario with him, it's a game of hide, and snipe.

That was also another reason why I can't use my abilities. One thing that hasn't improved is his lying, though. He is still the same Usopp, he's just quicker, sneakier, and probably a little more experienced than cannon Usopp would be.

Anyway, I'm running through the forest looking for Usopp, when I feel a sharp poke on my rear. I scowled, and ducked behind cover to listen for Usopp. I tried my best, but couldn't hear any movement. That either meant he had reached my level of stealth, or he hadn't moved. I decided on the latter, and ran up the tree to jump above tree cover.

I flew through the air on a ninja leap to the direction the shot came from. I fell onto the top layer of the trees, and grimaced at the rustle of leaves that I caused. I quickly rolled to the side, and felt another pellet graze my arm. I hastily shielded myself with the tree before I heard an explosion on the base, and felt it start to heat up. " _He's smokin me out!_ "

I grimaced as I ran through the fire to where pellets were shooting out to smack me all over. I mentally reminded myself that he was my best friend as I tackled the bushes, and came out with the shoe he was wearing. I hastily jumped up to chase him, and took more pellets as he sprayed behind himself with the slingshot. "Usopp Escape Tactic! Excape Stars!"

I hastily deflected the majority of the pellets with my vambraces. "You don't have to yell it at me every time!" I aimed my vambrace straight at his legs, and clenched my pinky in a very specific way. I smirked happily as a bolo shot out of my vambrace to tangle up one of his legs. I marked it up to bad aim, and took advantage of his stumbling to tackle him to the ground. I then proceeded to show my victory in a mature way. "HAHA! I caught you!" I then stuck my tongue out at him… in a mature way, of course.

Usopp groaned. "I thought the fire was going to work better than that."

I wiped the smirk off my face, and turned to see the fire still going. "FIRE! Oh no! What do we do? What do we do?!"

Usopp just groaned, and pulled out another pellet to launch at it. "Flour Start!" The fire was quickly smothered. "Calm down… it's just a Grease Fire Star."

I looked at him like an idiot. "What do you mean calm down? You're the one who usually freaks out about this stuff!" I pointed accusingly at him.

He shrugged lackadaisical. "I guess I've picked up some of your habits."

I let a face of pure terror present itself. "Does that mean I've started to act like you?!"

He punched my arm in fake outrage. "And what would be so bad about that?!"

I hastily put a sorry expression on my face. "Sorry, I guess you're not ALL bad… you do make a good stew." Another punch. "Okay! You're stew isn't that good."

Usopp punched me over the head like a certain navigator would be proud of. "That'll show you to make fun of the Great Captain Usopp's Legendary Five Meat Stew!"

I sweatdropped at him. "That's a long name for a four letter soup…"

He gave me a quick glare before he walked off to collect some of my ranged weapons. I jumped up to help him. "Anyway, I think you're getting pretty good at your hit and run tactics. Your Escape Star would probably stop most people from following you long enough to get a new sniper's nest ready."

He grunted in the affirmative before handing me a handful of shuriken. "Yeah, but it's still too hard to aim while not looking. I basically have to go off of memory, and predict where you'll be at. It won't work too well if someone decided to not run in a straight line…"

I shrugged helplessly. "I don't see a way around that unless you run backwards."

He sighed in frustration. "I know. I just need to get faster, and then I won't need it."

I grunted neutrally. "There's always going to be someone faster than you, Usopp."

He glared at me. "Oh, yeah? Well, you're not doing so hot either. I don't think you've improved much except your stamina in the last four months."

I scowled at myself. "It's not my fault I don't have a user's manual for this chakra thing. All I can really do is go over the basics right now. I need a teacher, or something." I growled to myself.

Usopp walked over to pat my shoulder. "Hey, look on the bright side. That guy you've been waiting for should be here soon. I mean if you're trial is really from God, that is." He added the last part with no small part of skepticism.

I had long since become used to his disbelief of my trial, but I hadn't quite gotten used to how soon Luffy would be here. I didn't know if I was ready for the pirate life, or they would even take me, but I knew I had to try.

I clenched my hand over the tablet on my necklace to feel the minute etchings running all over it's surface. I'd tried to decipher what it says countless times, but the most I could ever make out was row upon row of what looked to be hieroglyphs. I'd actually found one that looked just like the one on my arm. Which led me to believe that it must be some kind of text relating to Ozaron. I keep praying that it's some kind of user's manual, but haven't found a language that looks remotely like it anywhere.

So, aside from learning cool new tricks from might be a cheat sheet on my neck, I've been training my basics, and getting used to some of my new gadgets. I just had to hope that I was interesting enough to get Luffy's attention.

I was starting to get a complex about it because it was passed Luffy's birthday by now, and he should be showing up soon. I'd set the toddler trio to lookout in hopes that we'd be able to stick to the manga as much as possible.

Of course, that thought is probably what brought Onion crying through the forest at us. "It's horrible! They're Pirates on the shore!"

I perked up happily at the news, and Usopp looked conflicted. I ignored all of that to sprint as fast as possible to the beach.

I quickly made my way through the forest, and in the shadows to the cliff overlooking the landing. I prided myself in my stealth. Especially since there wasn't a single villager other than Usopp who knew about my abilities. This all helped tremendously when I used it to sneak a peek at the pair of ships resting on the shore.

-Usopp's P.O.V.-

Usopp was conflicted. On the one hand, he wanted to believe in his friend. On the other, he found it a little too absurd. I mean the butler may be a jerk, but I'd never have thought he could be a pirate captain unless Zach said so. He just gives off a refined vibe you don't really find in pirates.

" _I just hope this is really the pirates he was looking for. If not… well, I guess we could use the practice…"_ Usopp stopped with an even more conflicted expression. " _WHat has that religious moron done to me… I'm actually itching for a fight?!"_

Onion ran full speed into Usopp's back. "What's the matter, Captain? We need to stop the bloodthirsty pirates!"

Usopp felt his legs start to shake uncontrollably. "B-Bloodthirsty?"

Onion nodded vigorously. "Of course! One of them looked like a grumpy demon!"

Usopp gulped audibly before putting up a false bravado, and running behind Onion. " _Okay, maybe I haven't changed that much…"_

-Zach's P.O.V.-

I found my perch, and sat quietly observing the two men hop off to tie down the ships. One had green hair, and three swords attached to his waist. The other had his traditional straw hat on, and was happily chatting away with the swordsman. I saw an orange haired woman hop off of the boat once it was tied down, and felt the same thrill I had when I met Usopp. " _I can't believe I'm actually going to meet the Strawhats!"_

I made sure I wasn't visible, but I still saw Zoro glanced around uncomfortably. " _He's pretty observant even if he can't find my hiding spot."_ The three of them made their way up the slope only to be stopped by Usopp's call. "I am the Great Pirate Fleet Leader Usopp! I have a crew of over Eighty million men! I'm also known as the Great Captain Usopp!"

I nearly slapped my forehead hearing how bad his lying was. " _Honestly, you'd think me being around would help a little…"_

I Ignored what looked to be the canon meeting between the four, and slunk down to the shore, and across the water for my cue. Luckily, I arrived pretty close to it. Nami had just called him a liar, and Usopp quickly proved her true. "Waa! I've been caught!"

I let a sigh escape my lips, and shrugged helplessly as the three turned around to look at me. Luffy shouted in surprise. "Woah! How'd you get there?!"

Zoro pulled his blades out to glare at me, and Nami started yelling while pointing at me. "You'd better not have touched my treasure!"

I sweatdropped at her priorities. "Uhh… Usopp? Are we going to fight them… or?"

He hastily pulled himself together, and started waving his hands around. "No! No, they seem like good people!" He got a wicked gleam in his eyes as he smiled around. "In fact! They've already agreed to join the Usopp Pirates!"

I sweatdropped at him this time. Luckily, Luffy got rid of the tension a lot better than Usopp. He started looking back and forth between us, and settled on Usopp before laughing hysterically. "Hahahaha! You're so funny!" I felt my shoulder loosen until Luffy smacked him over the head playfully. "But I already have a pirate crew! And I'm the captain!"

I looked between the three of them awkwardly. "So… Are you going to fight us?"

Nami scowled at me. "Is that all you care about?! Do you want to fight us so bad?"

I perked up at her question. "Why? Are you offering?"

She hastily waved her hands, and pushed Zoro at me. "No! Y-you can fight this one!"

I saw Zoro practically trip over himself as he yelled. "You damn, witch! You can't just push me around to fight for you!"

I nodded emphatically to his words. "That's right! If he's fighting for you, then you should pay him!"

Nami looked at me like I cursed in church. "With my treasure?! NEVER!" She quickly went to stand between me, Zoro, and her treasure.

I sweatdropped, and looked to Luffy questioningly. "You… have an interesting crew…"

He smiled proudly at me. "Yeah, they're pretty great, huh?"

I smiled awkwardly. "They're something… Anyway, Are you guys hungry?"

Luffy ran up to me drooling. "Do you have meat?!"

I nodded slowly, and he picked me up in a bear hug. "MEAT!"

I quickly fell to the ground as he looked around for the food. I saw Nami and Zoro unsure of what to do. "I'll pay." Nami smiled sweetly at me as she tried to pull Luffy back from my throat. "They have booze," Zoro grunted, and then pulled Luffy back long enough for me and Usopp to take them to Meshi's.

-x-

We wound up sitting in a booth at Meshi's. I found myself with a window seat next to Luffy. Nami and Zoro sat across from us, and Usopp pulled a chair to the end of the booth. "So, you're looking for companions, and a ship?" Usopp summarized the meat mouthed ramblings of Luffy.

Luffy nodded ecstatically, and then Usopp began to explain about Kaya having a ship. I droned his conversation out as I tried to sneak some of Luffy's food onto my plate. Every Time I got close, it would get sucked into his mouth like magic. I glared at this predicament, and slid my necklace into my pocket to activate my red eyes. I quickly used my heightened reaction time to swoop in, and steal a thigh bone from his plate. I was all ready to gloat before I noticed Luffy's tongue stretching over to it.

I scowled at the appendage, and brought it closer to me, and turned my shoulder. I felt the tongue bounce off it, and Luffy whine at my back. "Aww, why'd you take my meat?"

I stuck it in my mouth proudly, and glared at him. "Because you ate all of mine!" I pointed to my conspicuously clean plate.

He whined again before reaching to steal some of Nami's food to replace his. I saw Usopp fuming, and then yell at us. "Are you even listening to me?!"

I shrugged easily to his anger. "Nope! Gotta steal some meat!"

He deflated a little before perking up a little smugly. "Oh! You said you were looking for companions, right?"

Luffy looked over excitedly. "Yeah! Do you know anyone?"

He leaned back with his arms crossed to look at Luffy. "Make me the Captain, and I'll join!"

The three of them sunk their heads depressedly before speaking in unison. "Nevermind…"

I laughed uproariously as Usopp yelled. "What kind of reaction was that?!"

I smiled happily at all this, and then Usopp glared at me. "Well?" He asked over the sounds of them eating.

I nodded happily to him. "It's them! I'm positive!"

Luffy looked between us in confusion, but it was Nami who asked. "What are you talking about? Do you know us?"

I smiled happily again at her. "Of course I do! You guys are the people I've been waiting for!"

Zoro scowled at me. "Oh, yeah? and what for?"

I felt myself sober up. "I have a promise to fulfill. So, I'd like to join your Pirate crew!" I turned to Luffy in earnestness. "Well? Will you let me?"

I saw Luffy look me over for a second in apparent deep thought. "No!"

I saw my vision start to fade, and slumped back in my seat at his declaration. I weakly looked at him, and asked. "W-Why…?"

He pointed angrily at the bone in my hand. "You took my meat!"

I vaguely saw Nami smack his head as I hopped out of the booth to leave the restaurant. I ended up falling on my butt just outside of it to look around in a daze. I vaguely felt a headache coming on, and grabbed my head in pain.

I knew Usopp would be out to look for me, and I stood up with a shaky smile to greet him. He looked me over worriedly. "Are… are you okay? I know you really believed in this… and…"

I cut him off quickly. "I'm fine! I'm fine! You just go see your girlfriend! I need to take a walk."

I saw him nod uncertainly, and I headed off into the forest. I quickly found a tree to sit beneath, and hugged my head in pain as I felt my eyes start to hurt. I stifled a yelp of pain by biting my fist, and vaguely pulled out a knife to see my eyes had turned a bloodier red. " _I guess they share more in line with the Sharingan than I thought… Emotional pain matures the eyes…"_ I numbly slid the necklace on to relieve myself of the pain, but found that I still had a headache. I cursed silently, and threw it on the ground.

I was so out of it that I didn't notice Zoro making his way over to my tree. He leaned against one near me, and spoke. "You're taking this pretty hard."

I bolted up from where I sat, and looked around to find him. I switched my eyes to red, and saw Zoro stiffen at the eyes he could now see. I relaxed, and switched them to white. "Sorry… Reflex."

He grunted before asking me another question. "What are they?"

I smiled sadly. "A gift. They were supposed to help me complete my trial. Fat lot of good they did. I already failed."

Zoro was looking me over oddly. "You never answered my first question."\

I smirked at him. "Do you believe in deities?"

He shrugged in reply, and I grunted. "I guess that's a lot to ask a stranger, anyway." I ran a hand through my hair. "I do. Or at least I do now, and I had to do something for the deity… It was supposed to start with joining your crew."

Zoro hummed in thought before turning to leave. "You know, Luffy isn't that picky when it comes to friends. I think you still have a shot with that deity."

Zoro started to walk off, and I grimaced as he left towards my house. "Uh, Zoro? You're going the wrong way…" He grunted in thanks, and headed towards the beach. I groaned in annoyance, and jogged up to him. "Just follow me. I assume you're heading for the mansion?"

He nodded in affirmative. "Supposed to, yeah." I smiled a little easier than before, and dragged him along to meet a hypnotist and evil butler.

-x-

We quickly found ourselves outside of the mansion just in time to hear a very ladylike scream coming from over the hedges. Zoro, and I exchanged a look, and I held my hands together to give him a boost. He quickly caught on, and with a little chakra, I tossed him over the hedge. I quickly followed suit with a ninja jump.

We came down just in time to see Usopp deck the butler. I felt my blood run cold after I saw the look in Kuro's eyes, and I dashed forward at my absolute fastest to pull Usopp back, and drop into a ready stance facing Kuro. I saw him look me over curiously, and scowl in recognition. "And you must be Zachary Sewell. Another orphan who's been playing at pirate."

I scowled at him in disgust. "Don't you have some linens to wash, _Klahadore."_ I emphasized his name sarcastically, and he twitched at my statement. I saw him grit his teeth, and turn to leave.

Of course, he didn't forget a parting shot. "I'll be suggesting to the guards to get rid of the trash. You all should leave."

Usopp strode past me to yell at Klahadore receding back. "I don't care what you say! I'm proud of my father's blood that runs through me! I'm proud to be the son of a pirate! I'm going to follow in his footsteps, and be a brave warrior of the sea!"

I flinched at the volume, and then walked up to pat his back. "We should go…" I waved sadly to Kaya. "We'll see you later, Miss Kaya."

She looked at us leave with tears in her eyes, and I did my best not to look. I knew things were going to be tough for her, but she needed to experience it all to mature… " _This feels like a moral grey area… using someone else to get my way…"_

I looked at the pirate crew behind us, and saw Luffy ran after Usopp to tell him about his dad, and I saw the crew stay behind. I decided to stick with them, and sat on the ground. It didn't take long before Nami spoke up. "So… why do you want to join his crew anyways? He's kind of an idiot."

I smiled sadly at her. "I… It's hard to explain." I ruffled my hair exasperatedly.

Zoro snorted loudly at the side. "It's not that hard. Your religious beliefs led you to believe you needed to go to sea. You probably picked Luffy for the same reason."

I felt a pit in my stomach at the half truth he seemed to get from my story. "It's kind of more than that…."

Nami looked me over interestedly. "What religion do you follow? I've never heard of pirates having gods?"

I shrugged awkwardly. "I guess me being here is a form of practice. So, I guess you could call it my religion in a sense of the word… I like to think of it as more of an ill-advised career choice." I saw the confused look on her face. "I'm taking part in a trial given to me by Ozaron, or someone associated with he. I don't have many clues on how to do that unless I join you guys."

She nodded a little easier. "Okay, so it's a little like a pilgrimage?"

I sweatdropped. "That's… close enough."

She nodded firmly. "So, why does it need to be Luffy?"

I perked up at a question I could answer. "Because of what he'll do! He has the 'Will of D.', and I believe he'll be the next Pirate King!"

Nami and Zoro both looked at me oddly, and would have asked more if Onion hadn't run over crying. "Bad news! There's a man that walks backwards!"

I smirked slightly, and whisper to Nami and Zoro. "Watch this, he's going to take a nap."

They looked at me oddly as a man started to moonwalk down the road, and then they looked at him oddly. I saw him and the kids start talking, and I made it a point to ignore the man. I didn't really feel like finding out how susceptible to hypnotism I was. So, I gripped my necklace in my pocket hard, and faded away into the background so he couldn't see me. Eventually, I heard a thump, and saw Jango, and the toddler trio on the ground snoring.

Nami looked at him in disbelief before she turned to me in shock. "Did you know that guy?"

I shook my head firmly. "Not really. Call it insider's information." I dusted my pants off, and stood up. "Well, we should go look for Luffy and Usopp, right?"

I saw them nod hesitantly, and fall back to talk amongst themselves as we walked. I tuned them out, something I seemed to be quite good at. They eventually came up to flank me. Zoro spoke first. "So, if you joined the crew, what would you do?"

I cocked my head to the side in thought. Finally I felt a cheeky smile tugging across my face. "Need a priest?"

I heard Zoro scoff, but Nami hummed in thought. "Can you fight?"

Nodding lazily I let go of the necklace in my pocket. "I'm decent."

Nami swung her staff at the back of my head, and Zoro stuck his leg in front of me to trip me up. I responded with a foot high jump ducking my head down. I felt the staff slip by my hair, and easily hopped over the leg. I landed in a crouch before twirling on one foot in a good approximation of a low sweep. I couldn't resist it as I shouted. "Leaf Whirlwind!" I felt my leg sweep Nami off of her feet, but Zoro blocked my leg with the side of his Katana. I jumped back to drop into the beginning stance of the Gentle Fist, and looked him over warily. He didn't move for a while before grunting, and sheathing his sword. "You're at least a more competent fighter than the witch." He jerked his head to the girl awkwardly sitting on the ground.

I scratched my head awkwardly, and walked over to help her to her feet. She took my proffered hand, and then yanked on it hard. I retaliated by pouring chakra into my soles so that she actually lifted herself up. I smirked a little at her flustered expression. "Your welcome, Miss Nami." I said smugly.

She glared at me. "I guess I don't care if you join, but I want you to get me some treasure! I saw how sneaky you could be! You're almost as good as me." She added on proudly.

I quirked an eyebrow at that statement. "Anyway, Where do you guys want to look?"

Zoro pointed towards the cliffs, and I smiled happily. "You lead the way!"

-x-

We eventually found a sleeping Luffy at the base of the cliff. I held up a hand to hold them back from speaking, and walked up to the rubberman. I pulled out my lunchbox, and found some jerky. "Luffy, I got you some meat!"

He jerked awake with drool on the corner of his mouth. "Where?!"

I held out the handful of jerky, and he clamped his mouth onto my hand. I stared numbly at the teenager chewing on my hand, and screamed. "What the heck! Let go of my arm! I'm not meat!"

I whipped my arm around, and smacked Luffy against the ground, and cliff walls until there were cracks everywhere. I felt someone smack me atop the head, and then do the same to Luffy. "Will you two stop it?! You're about to break the cliff!"

I rubbed my head with the drool free hand, and glared at Luffy. "You got spit all over my arm!"

Luffy stuck his tongue out at me. "You had my meat!"

I glared back. "I was giving it to you, and then you slobbered me up!"

He looked me over critically before his face lit up. "I know! Gum Gum..." He pulled his arm back, and then whipped it forward to smack me in the chest. "Bazooka!"

I felt my world spin as I screamed. "You idiot! I ate a Devil Fruuuuiiiiiit!" Right before I crashed into the ocean.

I felt myself slip under before I could push my chakra along my back to stay on top. The world started to go black before I felt a pair of hands pull me up. Unfortunately, they weren't fast enough to stop the world from fading completely.

-x-

I woke up to someone smacking my chest, and then I coughed up a lungful of water. "Ugh huk huk!" I wheezed heavily, and looked up to see Nami crouched beside me happily smacking my chest, and Luffy on his knees bowing in apology. "What the-"

Luffy exclaimed at me in a hurried shout. "I'm sorry for drowning you!"

I blinked in confusion, until I remembered where I was. "I don't think I should give you meat anymore…"

Luffy jerked up to look at me in abject horror, while Nami stifled a giggle and Zoro smirked. "NO! No, no, no! Please! It was an accident! I didn't know you ate a Devil Fruit,too!" Then he leaned forward with stars in his eyes. "Oh! What Devil Fruit was it? What can you do?! Mine made me a rubber man!" He then proceeded to pull his face out to demonstrate.

After thoroughly feeling weirded out by seeing such an action in real life, I saw Nami look at me curiously as well. "I'd like to know that too." I even heard a grunt from Zoro.

I reached up to pull my glasses off, but found them missing. "Oh… well, you see how my eyes are weird?" I saw them nod. "Well, they weren't like that before I ate the fruit."

Luffy scratched his head in disappointment. "That's a pretty stupid power…"

I glared at him, and smacked him in the head only for it to bounce off. "That's not my power! It's a side effect. I ate the Vision-Vision fruit. My eyes have the potential to be the eyes of a God if I figure out how to use them properly."

Luffy had stars in his eyes again, and Zoro quirked an eyebrow at me. "Care to be more specific?"

I shrugged before pointing to my eyes as they shifted between white, red, and blue. "White is default, It gives me enhanced vision, X-ray vision, and 360 vision. Blue is knowledge, It gives me photographic memory, and helps me think. Red is combat, it heightens my reaction time. I know there's a green, but I don't know what it does, or how to use it."

Luffy had stars in his eyes still, Zoro looked impressed, and Nami… she looked pissed? She spoke crossed her arms over her chest to speak in a eerily calm voice. "...You said X-ray vision?"

I blinked in confusion before noticing her arm placement, and then widen my eyes in surprise. "NO! I didn't! I mean, I wouldn't!... At least not without your permission!" I added on that last part awkwardly as I realized everything I had just said. I gulped audibly to hear how the witch would respond.

I received a deadly glare from her. "Just know that the going rate is 100,000 Beri." She smiled sickly sweet at me after saying so, and I felt a chill run down my spine.

I turned my head to look to where I knew Usopp would come from. "I see Usopp. He looks depressed. You guys should go make sure he's okay. I'll be there in a second. I need to shake of almost drowning."

They all proceeded to walk away, and I slumped against the rock to think over what just happened. " _I think Luffy might be warming to me now that I gave him meat… and showed him that I was interesting."_ I sighed audibly before deciding to let Usopp do the explaining again. I pulled a ninja miracle, and ran home to exchange my blunted training weapons for the real deal, and put on dry clothes all before Usopp finished his story of getting chased out by Kaya.

I landed next to the group ready for battle dressed in a black and green long sleeved hoodie with white black pants. I had an assortment of hidden weapons all over my body, with gadgets thrown into the mix along with a couple of leg pouches full if projectiles. I looked like I could fit in with a ninja from Naruto, but without the headband, and medical tape. I turned my fully exposed white eyes to the assembled group, and patted the thoroughly shaken Usopp on the shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll make sure to stop them."

Usopp looked over at me with something akin to disbelief and fear. "How… How did you know about all of this? Down to the last detail!" He ran up, and grabbed my shirt while tear went down his face. "HOW DID You ...know?" He trailed off as he sagged to the ground.

I crouched down in front of him while everyone else gave me weird looks. "I… You wouldn't believe me… Just take it as Ozaron watching out for you… She sent me here. I'm obviously supposed to help… just let me, okay?"

Usopp rubbed his face vigorously, and I helped him up to look at the three pirates. He looked each in the eye before stopping at Luffy, and bowing. "Please help me save my town!"

I bowed as well. When Luffy answered. "Okay, I'm definitely going to butt-in on this one!

Nami gestured vaguely with her hands like she was hauling treasure. "I get all of their treasure!"

Zoro just grunted with a quick nod. I looked up gratefully, and saw Usopp start to cry again. "Why…?" He asked them quietly.

Luffy clenched a fist. "Because there's a lot more of them than you two!"

Zoro scowled at Usopp. "Because you look like you're about to pass out from fright."

Usopp got up to bellow at the three. "WHAT? I'm the great Captain Usopp! There's no way that I'm frightened! Just watch! I'm a brave warrior of the sea!"

We all silently looked down to see his legs shaking, and I put an arm on his shoulder. "It's fine to be scared… just remember that I'll be there to get your back."

He nodded somewhat more firmly, and looked at Luffy and co. "I get why Zach is helping, but why are you?"

Zoro looked at us in his scary-serious way to speak. "We're doing this because we respect your courage."

Luffy grunted. "Why else would we risk our lives?"

Usopp started to get another emotion attack, and I let go of him to make sure I didn't catch the dang things. "You guys… I'm so touched."

-x-

We soon found ourselves at the slope by the shore. I looked around thinking I had forgotten something while Usopp talked. "They're going to attack from this shore, and this slope is the only way into the village."

I blinked in confusion at how familiar all of this sounded. I looked around in confusion to see if anyone else felt this way, but Usopp just kept on talking. "So, if we guard this area, then the village won't be harmed!"

I shrugged it off for now. If I couldn't remember, then it shouldn't be that important to the story. I mean, it's not like anyone dies this early in the story. I blinked myself into awareness at Usopp assembled everyone. "So, what are you guys good at?"

Zoro was slouching with his trademark scowl as he answered. "Cutting!"

Luffy dutifully put a fist forward. "Stretching!"

Nami just put her hands on her hips. "Stealing!"

I chuckled as Usopp turned to hide behind me. "Hiding!"

The three of them then proceed to yell at him. I noted idly how they did in fact kind of look like they had shark teeth while yelling. "You have to fight too!"

Nami picked up that I hadn't spoken, and prompted me. "Well? What about you?"

I felt my chakra surge along its coils in excitement. "I'll watch your backs."

Luffy looked me over critically again, and turned away to start helping Usopp with his oil slick. The way he kept looking at me made me question if he was really as thick as he let on. I started to idly help them spread out the oil slick, and ended up on the bottom of the slope. I looked around in confusion at how I'd ended up only to hear Nami yelling at me. "You, Idiot! Now, you're stuck there!"

I blinked in confusion before rubbing my chin in thought. "I don't want to mess up my awesome new clothes for this…" I shrugged, and threw a handful of throwing knives up the slope about a foot or two apart from each other, and proceeded to hop back up the slope. I jumped proudly at the end, and threw my arms up like in the Olympics.

I bowed to the clapping that Usopp and Luffy were giving me until Nami hit me over the head. "IF IT WAS THAT EASY TO GET UP THE OIL SLICK, THEN WHY DID WE DO IT?!"

I pouted at her angrily. "Just because I made it look easy, doesn't mean it was!" I gestured behind us. "Besides, I kicked them farther in the ground." I pointed out the nubs barely sticking out from the oil as opposed to the handles that had been before.

I heard Zoro whistle in appreciation, and Luffy slapped my back roughly. "Wow, Zach! You're pretty good! It's too bad you took my meat, huh?"

I pointed a finger angrily at him. "I gave you my jerky!"

He scowled back at me. "Nuh uhh! I had to take it from your hand!"

I punched him angrily with my necklace acting as a brass knuckle. "You, jerk! I was handing it to you!"

Luffy rubbed the lump on his head before freezing to look at my hand in confusion. "How'd you do that?! I'm rubber!"

I smirked proudly at him. "It's Sea Prism Stone. If a Devil Fruit user touches it, then it feels like they're knee deep in water."

Nami walked over to me with Beri's in her eyes. "Ooooh! That must be worth a lot of Beris!"

I hastily stuffed it into my pocket to glare at her. "Back off, thief! This is important to me!"

I saw her pout at me with puppy dog eyes, and I promptly turned to walk beside Usopp. I found himself muttering about something. "... should slow them down, and then snipe them. They can take care of the ones who make it through… Luffy gets Kuro, according to Zach."

I jerked up in sudden realization as I looked out to sea. "Usopp! I don't see their ship!"

He shrugged a little until he figured out what I meant. "But it's almost morning! They should be close enough for you to see by now!"

I nodded hastily. "Unless they're coming from the other shore!"

I saw the other three walk up to us questioningly, and Usopp hastily explained. "Zach can see almost halfway across the island, and yet he can't see the ship. That means that they're either really late, which I doubt with Kuro's crew, or they're coming ashore from somewhere else!"

Nami visibly blanched in realization as she screamed. "My treasure!"

She hastily started running up the slope, and I saw Zoro catch on as well. He promptly turned West to head towards the North shore. "Zoro! Just follow us! You'll get lost…" I sighed audibly as he disappeared into the forest.

Luffy looked around in confusion. "Why'd they leave?"

I looked over at him in befuddlement. "The pirates are attacking from the North shore. not the South shore." He looked close to a realization, and I pointed North for him. "Bad guys are that way."

He nodded happily, and ran East. "Thanks, Eye-guy!"

I scowled, and ran off to the North shore with Usopp. "I think it might be up to us until they get there… They're going to get lost."

Usopp looked scared, but resolute as he said. "You said this was going to happen… and now it has. It's time to put our training to the test."

I smiled happily at his outlook. "Sure thing, Buddy! And don't worry, I've got your back!"

He nodded gratefully at me, and started to look less scared as we ran to what would be the first real fight on our journey to being pirates.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N- I had this idea in my head where Zach would make his own hidden weapons, but I just keep coming back to Assassin's Creed. I'd hate to overuse that one genre so much until I have to put it in my disclaimer as well. So! If anyone out there knows of any nifty hidden weapons or genres for me to look into, then feel free to review or shoot me a PM!

The Keeper of Worlds: Thanks so much for all of your reviews! I really appreciate the feedback!

Disclaimer: I do not own, Naruto, One Piece, nor any of their characters. I guess I do own any OC's I write.

 _ **Confessions and Doubt**_

-x-

Usopp and I found ourselves to be the first to make it to the slope. I quickly zoomed in on the base to see Jango in the middle of his rallying call. I also found Nami in the middle of sneaking towards her treasure WAY out of the combat zone. "I see Nami, she's fine. Zoro and Luffy aren't here. It also looks like They're about to attack. Got any preparations to make?"

Usopp rifled through his bag to pull out two smaller bags. He tossed me one, and went to throw the contents everywhere. "They're caltrops! It should slow them down."

I shrugged at his suggestion, and did as he wanted. I finished first, and took his bag away from him. "Go get in position, you're no good on the frontlines right now."

He nodded thankfully, and then yelped in surprise. "There are caltrops behind us! How am I supposed to get out?"

I groaned, and grabbed his neck like a puppy. "Curl into a ball." I flared my chakra, and sent him flying over the top of the slop. I dusted my hands off to look around. I hummed in thought, and ninja jumped to the slope wall. I found a crevice of sorts to stick to with chakra, and blended into the shadows.

I heard a loud clarion call of "Let's go, everybody!" Which was followed with a stampede of footsteps. I calmed myself, and felt my chakra flow easily through my system. I fingered the pouch of senbon, and plucked out a few. I let my eyes spread out, and took this chance to turn them red.

I saw everything slow down a fraction, and grinned at target practice. "And… pull!" I threw out a handful of senbon that speared through a pirates leg. He tried to take his next step, and fell on his face as his leg went numb. I saw the pellets Usopp uses zoom past, and take out another couple pirates while I did the same. "I really want to try out something…"

I hopped off of the cliff wall to the top of the caltrop field, and saw Jango point angrily at me. "He must be the one taking out our men! Get him!"

I dropped into an approximation of Gentle Fist, and waited for the pirates. I had to pull back a laugh after I saw them trip on our caltrops. The first pirate made it up the cliff, and I slid forward to poke an acupuncture point located on the shoulder. I saw him flinch when nothing happened, and I tried again with a twist of my wrist on another acupuncture spot near his thigh.

I received an annoyed grunt. "Quit poking me, kid!"

I scowled at him as I continued to try things out, and finally moved on to small blasts of chakra with my finger movements. I saw something awful the first time, and, thanks to my eyes, I saw a vein leak, and him start to internally bleed. I hastily toned my chakra burst down enough to impede the flow. It seemed to fix the problem, and his arm lost some movement. He looked at me bewilderedly. "What'd ya do to me arm, boy?!"

I ducked another thrust, and whirled around to try and figure out this dang fighting style. My eyes flashed from blue to red, and black to white periodically as I danced around the pirates. Eventually, I found myself standing over a group of black and blue pirates twitching on the ground. I pouted at them. "Dangit… I think I was getting close to something here."

I heard Jango stomping around at the base of the cliff, and let my vision drift towards him. "You lot of useless waste!" He huffed indignantly. Finally, he calmed down enough to pull of his hypnotist ring, and I hastily turned my vision away. "On the count of Jango, you will let us pass! One… Two… Jango!" I finally turned my vision back to him, and saw his crew rolling out of the way. I sweatdropped at the way it worked out, and He yelled at his crew. "Not you lot!"

I saw a flash of orange hair pop up beside me, and I smiled happily. "Did you have fun?"

She looked around me in something akin to awe. "You did all of this?"

I shook my head firmly, and gestured vaguely behind us. "Nah, Usopp had my back. He's a great shot. Even if he is a little scaredy cat." I quickly moved to the left to dodge the warning shot. "Fine! You're a brave warrior of the sea!" I yelled over my shoulder.

Nami looked behind her in surprise to see that she couldn't find where the shot came from. "You guys are pretty good…"

I shrugged. "We've been practicing, and these aren't the first pirates we've taken care of. They're definitely the toughest though."

Nami looked at the piles of bruised pirates, and deadpanned. "Yeah, they sure look tough passed out at your feet."

I snorted. "Not these guys. I mean the two on the ship, the hypnotist, and the butler. They're the tough ones."

Nami blinked in confusion. "Then… what can I do?"

I smiled happily as I ran off. "Just hold down the fort! I'll get the heavy hitters!"

Nami froze on the spot before turning to yell at the forest I disappeared into. "YOU TRAITOR!"

I chuckled happily as I raced off to Zoro. My eyes caught him racing back to the Southern shore again. I quickly caught up to him, and whistled a nice long note. "Zoro! Just follow me!"

I heard him grunt as we headed towards the shore. I wasn't able to see Luffy, and just had to hope he made it on his own. We finally made it back to the shore to see Luffy asleep under a large piece of their ship, and the Nyaban brothers hiding behind Jango. "I'm telling you two to go fight that girl right now!"

The skinny one started crying as he ran at Nami. "Fine! You don't have to be so mean about it!"

I growled at Zoro. "We've got to save her!"

He blinked in confusion before looking at me oddly as we ran up there. "Why? They look like a couple of wimps."

I scowled at him. "They're the ship's guard for a reason, Zoro."

I hastily drew a throwing knife to channel chakra into before my throw. I whipped it forward with all my power to send it whizzing straight at the skinny one before he glared at me, and dodge to the side. He slowly stood up to wipe the blood off of his cheek, and glare at me. "This isn't your fight, boy."

I saw Zoro's face turn to shock at the 180 in personality, and I ran forward to take him on. "Zoro, you get the fat one!" I gave Nami a look, and asked. "Nami, Can you get Luffy?"

I wanted to continue speaking, but skinny started his offence, and I had to hastily dodge his swipe. "You're fighting me now. You should pay attention, boy!"

I glared at him as I struck his shoulder near the joint with a quick blast of chakra. "Oh, shut up." I smirked as I saw the delay his arm was having in its attacks, and continued my experimentation.

Or, I would have done so, if I didn't get my awesome shirt ruined by him cutting me open. I glared angrily, and dropped the Gentle Fist Style to switch to my custom Hidden Weapons Style. I planted my steel toed shoe in the ground as he swung low to cut my leg, and flared my chakra out of a tenketsu point along my leg to work a button which launched a senbon from my calf at his arm. I heard a yowl, and smirked as I lifted my other foot. "Leaf Hurricane!" I felt the dagger sticking out of the tip of my boot stick him in the side before it snapped off. He started to his at me as his blows started to come in faster, and faster. I felt more of his claws rake me, and grimaced at the fact I can't even beat this guy without some minor wounds. I kept close proximity to him as I let my hidden blade score a wound across his arm, and continued my onslaught of bladed surprises.

I could see how Zoro was faring against the big one thanks to my 360 vision. He was currently in the middle of cutting his opponent up vigorously with his three-sword style. It really wasn't even a fight. I saw Nami in the middle of making her way around our fights unnoticed.

At least she was unnoticed until Jango saw her heading towards his ship. "What do you think you're doing near my ship?" I saw him pull his circle blades out to slash her, and I did my absolute best to launch a knife at him, but it got there half a second too slow. Nami got a long slash across her back, and Jango got a knife through his hand. "Dammit! Sham! Finish that kid off!"

The skinny one, I guess he's called sham, growled at me. "Look what you did now, kid!" He pulled his arms out to his sides to adopt a pre-leap stance. "Cat…" He pounced right at me in a flurry of swipes. "Dance!"

I snarled back at him, and pulled my vambraces up to block one hand. The other hand ended up grazing my arm, and bloodying my awesome clothes again. I scowled at him as I jumped back. "You know what i'm getting tired of?! You people always calling me 'kid', and YOU'RE RUINING MY AWESOME CLOTHES!"

I ripped off the bloodied sleeve to show an assortment of knives strapped to my underarm, and started pelting the majority of skinny's body. I took full advantage of my chakra enhanced range of motion to duck under his swipes, and leave a knife imbedded in the leg. I rolled under one of his high kicks to hit the cliff face, and stick to it just above the ground to throw off his pounce. I quickly flicked out my hidden blade to leave a long gash across his back with one hand, and a well placed senbon to his shoulder to numb his arm. I eventually backed off enough to remark inwardly at how bloody this fight had gotten.

I stopped thinking of such things as I felt his claws leave a groove on my right cheek. I growled angrily, and leapt forward with a chakra enhanced fist to punch the pincushioned cat square in the face. I felt an oddly comforting crack as he flew off to land on the ground in front of Jango. I pointed angrily at Jango now. "And, you! You hurt Nami!"

I think my shouting woke up Luffy, because he jumped up from his nap to glare at Jango as well. "You hurt my nakama?!" He pulled his arm back, and firmly decked Jango on the jaw. I saw him twitch, and fall silent.

Luffy looked around to see Zoro finishing his opponent with a Oni Giri, and Usopp coming out of the forest to join us. I ran up to Nami to apply some bandages from my pouch. "Are you okay?" I tightened it a little, and she flinched.

She gave me a halfhearted glare. "Not really. I just got cut up by a hypnotist."

I smiled a little at that before coughing lightly. "You know… we did just finish off his crew. Now that he's out too…"

She pushed me aside to leap onto the ship squealing in glee. "All their treasure is mine!"

I sweatdropped to the others. "Wasn't she just whining about being injured?"

I didn't receive a response, and turned to see Kuro walking down the slope. Luffy was on his way out to greet him. I turned to dust off my pants, and addressed Usopp and Zoro "Usopp, you should cover Luffy from the ship. Zoro, can you help Luffy? I'll get Nami's back onboard."

I heard faint grunts from each as they did as I suggested. I just leapt up to the ship's deck, and turned my standard white vision on to snoop around. I quickly found Nami kissing a stack of Beris, and started to feel like a peeping tom at her antics. I coughed loudly, and she flinched before looking around. "Zach?"

I smiled a little, and punched a hole in the wall to come out near her. "Yes?"

She sighed in relief. "Nothing, I just thought you were a pirate."

I smiled a little sadly. "Not yet anyway."

She looked conflicted at my word choice, and then covered it up with a businesslike tone. "Okay, use your eyes to point me to the treasure!"

I cocked my head to the side. "Why would I do that?"

She sputtered indignantly a me. "Why wouldn't you?! So, we can take it all!"

I nodded happily again. "So, I get a share?" I specified.

She froze mid expression, and seemed to bite her tongue. Eventually she spat out, "10%"

I sighed lazily, and plopped down on a barrel. "75% I'm finding it all. You're just carrying it."

She glared at me, and seemed to collect herself. "30% I would find it anyway. You're just helping me get it faster."

I smirked at her. "I could always go get it before you. Who do you think will find it faster?"

She paled, and shivered at the thought. Finally, she pulled out the big guns, and sauntered up to blink coyly at me. "10% and I forgive you for peeking on me."

I felt my face heat up at her new tactic. "I never peeked on you!"

She pouted playfully. "Then how about I let you?"

I glared at her, and took a step away. "50% and stop that! It's awkward."

She huffed in annoyance at me. "No fun… 30% and I talk Luffy into letting you join."

I blinked in surprise, and rubbed my chin in thought. After a second or two, I stuck my hand out to shake hers. "Deal!"

She smirked at me. "Sucker, he was going to let you join anyway." She then turned on her heel to saunter out of the room.

I smiled a little. " _Huh, I guess I don't speak Luffy-nese"_

I hurried out of the room to direct Nami to the treasure room, and we began bagging the treasure up, and hauling it atop the deck. After doing all of this, we saw the conclusion to Luffy's fight.

Namely, Kuro slaughtering everyone, including his crew while Luffy yelled in outrage. "What do you take Nakama as?!"

Nami stiffened at my side, and I heard her gasp. "Luffy…"

The rapid slaughter continued, and I was barely able to see his shadow as he ran across cutting everyone to shreds. I finally caught up with him as he slashed Luffy, and then ground to a halt as Luffy slung him into the ground. I nodded in appreciation as Luffy slipped onto Kuro's back, and began yelling. "Gum Gum…" His head pulled back so far that it almost touched the ship. "Bell!" Then, it whipped forward to smack Kuro dead center in the face. The two of them then fell down, and Luffy hopped up.

The pirates still alive started yelling. "He beat the captain! Who is he?!"

Luffy proudly stuck out his chest to yell back at them. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm going to be King of The Pirates!"

I felt my heart skip a beat for some reason at the tone and certainty of his voice. " _I have to follow that man…"_ I felt the thought flit past my mind before I even realized what I had said.

Nami looked over to me in surprise. "He has that effect on you too?"

I nodded shakily. "Yeah… it's weird, huh?"

She nodded just as shakily. "Yeah."

I shook myself out of my daze, and threw the bags over my shoulder to carry them across the water to their boats. I had made it about four or five steps before I heard friend and enemy alike scream in surprise. "You can walk on water?!"

I blinked slowly, and turned around to see all eyes on me. "Oh… Yeah, forgot to tell you that. Sorry, guys!"

I smiled awkwardly as I ran over to deposit the treasure, and made it back to see everyone but Usopp still looking at me. Luffy ran up with stars in his eyes. "Woah! Is that part of your Devil Fruit powers?!"

I held up a hand to silence the questions I knew were coming. "Where's Usopp? … and Jango?"

They all looked around in surprise, and then we headed up the slope. I hastily pointed to the west. "Luffy! Throw me over there!"

Luffy obliged to pick me up, and elastically loaded me into his. "Gum Gum Bazooka!"

I felt the air whiz past my face, and oriented myself feet first to come flying in. "DYNAMIC ENTRY!" I rocked the landing with a perfect ten feet first on Jango's face right before he finished off Usopp. I smirked as I saw the shocked faces Usopp, Kaya, and the toddle trio. "Even Guy would be proud of that _Youthful_ entrance, guys!"

Usopp yelled in surprise as he helped Kaya to her feet. "Zach? How'd you get here?!"

I pulled my best imitation on Maito Gai, and winked at them while thumbs upping myself with a smirk. "I sensed the springtime of youth being set aflame, and knew I was needed!"

Kaya's jaw dropped, and Usopp had stars in his eyes. "So cool…" Usopp and the kids whispered.

Kaya shook her head furiously, and shouted at me. "Now, isn't the time for a midlife crisis, Zach!"

I felt my smirked freeze on my face, and then my jaw dropped in realization. "IS THAT WHAT IT MEANS?!" I hurriedly started whispering to myself, ignorant of the looks I was getting. "It makes so much more sense now… but, wait! Why would Lee say the same stuff?" An image of said green clothed Genin flashed before my blue eyes, and I cringed. "Okay… he probably just took it as sage wisdom, and rolled with it." Nodding firmly to myself, I straightened up to notice their odd looks, and shook my head a little to clear my mind.

It was then that I heard a groan from beneath my feet. I hopped off of the guy, as I found him struggling to stand back up. He glared at me angrily, and held up his blades. "That hurt, kid."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "It get's worse!" I happily directed his gaze towards where I flew in from with a finger.

I then got to enjoy seeing the rest of the strawhat pirates come flying into Jango's back, and landing in a tangle. I scurried forward to brass knuckle Jango into a little nap, and then turned to see Usopp holding Kaya in a tight hug. "Thank you, so much, Usopp! I'm sorry I didn't believe you!"

I looked on to see their touching moment, and knew things were getting a little awkward for the other three teenagers watching. I smirked playfully as I stage whispered to everyone. "I think we interrupted something, guys!"

I then got to thoroughly enjoy seeing Usopp and Kaya blush the same tint of red. Kaya then proceeded to bury her head in Usopp's shoulder before realizing what she did, and jumping out of his arms. "I-I'm… w-we're not… Stop it, Zach!" She finished with a glare shot at me.

I laughed uproariously with Luffy and co. for a good minute until Usopp let a pellet smack against my forehead. "Punishment Star!"

I scowled at him, and huffed in fake annoyance. Eventually, I went to collect Jango. "Should we do the same as last time, Usopp?"

He limped over to scowl at the unconscious pirate. "Yeah. I don't want them to come back to hurt the villagers."

Nami sidled up to us. "What do you mean by last time?"

I shrugged Jango into an easier position to carry as we walked to the beach. "Last time we beat up a crew, we pushed them adrift with a crippled ship, and hogtied to the mast."

Nami stopped in her tracks before running up to us. "You let them starve to death?!"

I looked at her in horror. "God, no! We called the Marines anonymously."

She looked slightly mollified at that. "Still, it's going to take time away from getting to know my treasure."

I raised an eyebrow at Luffy. "What do you think?"

He still had a goofy grin on his face. "Let's let them take their friends away."

I blinked in surprise. "Just let them go?"

He shrugged. "Why not? We already beat 'em up."

I looked to the rest of the crew, and they seemed resigned to it. So, I just threw Jango down, and took his weapons before smacking him awake. "Listen, _Kid._ Take your crew and leave. We won. So, leave this island alone. Deal?"

He nodded very quickly once he saw his _VERY_ unconscious captain. "y-yes, sirs!"

I spent the next hour or so supervising their retreat from the island, while everyone else headed ashore to talk to Kaya about a boat. I left the shore feeling like I had one weight lifted from my shoulders, and another one thrown on. " _I wonder if Luffy is really going to let me join… It'd stink to have to follow them around."_

I made my rounds of the town to politely tell some people that there would be a cabin available at the end of the path, and then started to pack up my essentials. I stuffed my wardrobe, consisting of basically what I was already wearing except not ruined, in the chest Tyler gave me along with the things I came into this world with, my tools, gadgets, weapons, and some of my books. With it fully loaded, I slung it over my shoulder, and headed towards the shore where I saw the Going Merry.

I got there early, and waved hello to our resident goat man. "Hi there, sir."

He wheezed a little before smiling back at me. "Hello, lad. I understand you helped the Miss as well?" I nodded slightly to that, and he broke out into an even bigger smile. "Then, I truly can't thank you enough!"

I shrugged it off. "Do you know where the others are?"

He looked around. "I was thinking they would be with you."

I sighed. "They must be eating before they leave…" I looked over to the pile of supplies by the dock. "Do you need a hand loading those?"

He smiled gratefully. "I was going to try and get some kids to do it for me, but that would be appreciated."

I smiled and waved it off. "No need. I'm waiting here anyway."

I then proceeded to load the supplies while Merry started to doze off on the dock. By the time I finished up, he was fast asleep. So, I decided to join him, and plopped down beside my sea chest to pillow my head with my arm, and watch the clouds.

-x-

I must have fallen asleep because I woke up to Luffy pulling me by the leg onto the Going Merry as it sailed away. I screamed loudly at the rude awakening. "What the?! What's happening?!"

I landed on board to see Nami smiling down at me. "I told you I'd talk him into it!"

I blinked in confusion, before turning to see Usopp, Luffy, and Zoro smiling down at me as well. "Really?"

Luffy pulled me up to my feet to smack my back happily. "Of course! The Future Pirate King needs a mystery eye guy!"

I felt my happiness plummet a little at that. "What?" I looked around for someone to explain, and Usopp stepped forward.

He politely pointed out what happened. "You were dead asleep, and we almost left you behind until Luffy remembered 'that eye guy who walked on water'. So, he grabbed you."

I crouched down on the deck to draw circles sadly. "You guys! That's so mean!"

Luffy and Usopp laughed at my antics, and Nami pointed to shore. "Hey, was that your luggage?"

I bolted up to watch as my chest got smaller. "NO! We need to go back!"

Luffy smiled happily at me. "I'll help! Gum Gum…" I felt like something bad was going to happen, and tried to run away only to have Luffy grab my shirt collar. "Claw Hook!'

I felt myself get flung back to shore, and hastily clamped onto my chest with any and all appendages as I was dragged back to the boat to land in a heap. I scowled at Luffy as I saw my stuff fall out. "Aww, man! Now it's all disorganized!"

Luffy 'helped' me again by smooshing everything inside, and stomping it shut. "There!" He patted some dust off his hands. "All better!"

Nami went to pick up a book to hand to me. "Almost. He forgot your… Introduction to Mechatronics book…" She looked at it oddly. "What's that?"

I stuffed it into the chest before answering. "Kind of like robot engineering." I saw Usopp and Luffy eyes light up, and I hastily waved them down. "I can't make any... yet! So, don't ask!"

They sighed sadly, but I distracted them up by hurrying to ask the important stuff. "Luffy, did you really let me join?"

He looked at me with his head to the side. "Duh, didn't Nami just tell you that?" He seemed to realize something as he put a fist atop his palm. "Oh! Grandpa used to tell me that getting hit on your head makes some people dumb. Are you one of those people?"

I felt my jaw drop at the question. "What do you mean by SOME people?!" I shook my head furiously. "This explains so much!"

I saw the rest of the crew nod in understanding as well. Luffy just looked around in a daze. "What? You guys didn't know that?"

I facepalmed before speaking. "Anyway… What changed your mind?"

He looked at me seriously in the eyes. "I just get the feeling that… I don't know, you're necessary somehow."

I blinked in confusion before I felt the brand on my arm twinge in pain. "Ow…" I looked back up at him with a little idea as to what he meant. "Ok, well, thank you anyway, Captain." I added the last part with a toothy grin. " _It must Ozaron pulling some strings or something."_

He adjusted his hat with a toothy grin right back at me. "No problem! I picked up two new nakama and a ship! It's time to party!"

I whooped in favor, and was quickly hit on the head by Nami. "NO! We're supposed to be sailing! We can't be partying again. You're out of luck, Zach. We celebrated at Meshi's"

I pouted at her, and she smirked as she went to the helm to call out adjustments. I hastily went to comply, and ran up the mast to unfurl the sails. I jumped down to see the crew looking at me oddly. Even Usopp came forward to speak. "I didn't know you could do that, Zach."

Luffy jumped over to inspect my feet. "Yeah! How did you do it?!"

I felt my face heat up awkwardly at the attention. "I'm guessing you want me to explain?"

I saw their heads nod, and I looked around to see the island still in sight. "Why don't I tell everyone after we sit down to eat dinner?"

I saw some reluctant nods, and heard Luffy's whine. "I wanted to hear about his mystery feet!"

I chuckled a little, and we spent the rest of the day getting used to sailing the ship. I definitely preferred sailing with a crew. It wasn't as lonely or boring. Especially with Luffy around!

I think he wound up tangled in the roping about fifteen times that day, and Zoro probably slept more times than that. Nami got to yell more than even that, and Usopp outdid her in telling tall tales. All in all, it was a great day.

I was even looking forward to telling everyone what I could do, and spent a lot of time thinking over how to phrase it. Eventually, the time came. We were all seated around the table eating a precooked meal Merry gave us, and then, almost as one, they turned to me expectantly. Luffy spoke up around a mouthful of meat. "Mystery time!"

I smiled nervously as I collected my thoughts. "Okay… they're two ways I could tell you this. Do you want to hear the version with just the facts, or the version that tells you how it all happened?"

Zoro grunted in what I interpreted as annoyance. Usopp just sat back thinking how he already knew how I did it. It came to Nami and Luffy to decide, and Nami spoke up first. "I'd rather hear how you got your-"

Luffy jumped up to exclaim over her. "Don't ruin all of the mystery!"

I sweatdropped at my captain, and looked back to Nami. "Well?"

She sighed loudly. "Fine. Just the facts."

I pulled out a knife from one of it's hiding places, and handed it to Zoro. "Well, the reason I can do things like walk on water, or up walls, is because of chakra. Chakra is the ambient energy found in all living things. I'm just gifted by… Ozaron to be able to mold it freely." I gestured to the knife. "It let's me do lots of things, but I can only do the basics. You know about the walking stuff, but it also lets me muffle my movements, enhance my muscles, augment my weapons, and I'm learning to use it to disrupt internal acupuncture points through touch." I gestured with my hand, and my index and middle finger flared up with a bluish haze for a second.

Zoro held up the knife questioningly. "Why did you give me this?"

I held out another knife to motion for him to chop at it. He proceeded to do so, and made a sizable knick in the steel. "Now, see what the chakra helps me do." I made the same motion, and cut the steel straight through. "The chakra helps me to hone its edge. You could do the same with enough force and speed, but I just need to channel chakra into it."

Zoro looked over the scraps, and whistled lowly. "Can you teach me that?"

I flicked my eyes towards him, and checked his internal network. "I don't think so… I can see your chakra network is there, but it's like it needs something to kick start it… I don't know how to do that."

I saw him shrug easily, and Luffy popped up to wave his arms in my face. "What about us?!"

I looked over them all, and shook my head sadly. "You're all the same. You're missing a spark of some kind."

Luffy sighed theatrically, and started chewing on his food. "Well, that was cool, anyway! You got some awesome powers, Zach."

I scratched my head in indecision. "Actually… there is something else…"

They all looked up from the food to see my awkward facial expression, and got serious again. Nami spoke up again. "What is it, Zach?"

I looked hesitantly at all of them. "What would you say if I could tell you what would happen in the... future?" I looked around nervously to inspect them each carefully.

They all looked at me like an idiot except for Usopp. Zoro spoke up cautiously. "Are you saying you can see the future? Is this something to do with your God?"

I nodded hesitantly again. "Yes, and no. I can't see the future. I just know what would happen if I were… not here, and yes it has to do with Ozaron."

Luffy looked at me oddly. "So, you know what's going to happen before we get to our next adventure?" I nodded a little more firmly. "Oh, you poor guy! Where's the fun in that!" He bemoaned as patted my shoulder consolingly.

I felt weird getting pity for this, but took it in stride before Zoro asked me another question. "And how do we know you're not just crazy?"

I pointed to Usopp. "Ask him."

Usopp glared at me before shakily nodding to the others. "It's true. He told me that you guys would come to help me save Kaya. He even told me that Luffy knew my dad." He looked over at me with a little apprehension in his eyes before it turned into trust. "He also helped me get through it all. So, I trust him on this."

I smiled gratefully at him, and Nami scoffed at us. "How do we know you two aren't playing a prank on us?"

I scowled at her, and pointed to her shoulder. "You want me to tell them why you need so much treasure, or is that for after you take a trip home?"

She visibly blanched at my words, and I saw everyone else perk up at my words. Zoro asked me quietly. "What do you know, Zach?"

I shook my head firmly. "It's her secret. I won't say anything unless she's okay with it."

Nami seemed to recover before she stood up to slap me across the face. "How do you know that?! Have you investigated me?!"

I rubbed my cheek angrily. "Dang, lady! I'm not blaming you for any of that stuff! I get why you did what you do, and I won't change my mind about it. So, calm down."

Usopp stood up to get between me and Nami. "H-He said he won't tell us, N-Nami. I think you should let him talk."

I blinked in surprise as Usopp was the one to stand up for me. Nami eventually sat down,and Usopp went to his seat again. Nami spoke up grumpily. "That still doesn't prove you know the future. It just proves that you're a stalker."

I snorted a little at that. "Okay…" I turned to Luffy. "Can I write something down, and we seal it. Then, when it happens you all see what I wrote? That should prove I'm not crazy or a stalker" I glared at Nami for the last part. "right?"

Luffy looked around the table to everyone. "I don't want you to ruin anything!" He gave me a pout like I threatened to steal his candy-sorry, meat."

I nodded. "I'll keep it simple"

Luffy shrugged somewhat unhappy still. I smiled as I began to write about Usopp shooting Johnny and Yosaku who had Scurvy, and how Nami berates the crew for not knowing the necessities of sailing. I even threw in Luffy's obsession with a musician, getting a cook, the eagle eyed person at the Baratie, and Nami charging to cook for us.

I quickly sealed the envelope, and looked around the room with a quirked eyebrow. "Who get's to hold it?"

Usopp quickly leaned away, and Zoro scoffed. Luffy sat there with a goofy grin while Nami glared at me. I looked between the two before Nami snatched it, and stuffed it into Luffy's hat. "There, now no one can mess with it."

I smiled a little at the way Luffy took the whole thing with barely bat of the eye. The rest of the dinner was uneventful, except for the dirty looks Nami was giving me. I finally gave up, and took my food outside to eat on the railing.

Eventually, Usopp came out to talk to me. "So… do you really believe you know the future?"

I scratched my head awkwardly. "I… believe that if I don't change things, then I could tell you anything you wanted to know about this crew two years from now."

He nodded as he seemed to catch on. "So, if you are here, then everything you know is kinda useless, right? I mean that changes things."

I shook my head. "No, not really. I mean, there are some things I could change, but the big events are going to happen. There's not a lot I can do about that stuff, just because I'm not strong enough to change it." The image of Ace dying in Luffy's arms flashed before my eyes.

Usopp nodded slowly. "Okay, so tell me this, If we all knew what you knew, would it still happen that way?"

I blinked in confusion as I thought it over. "No… I guess not. It would change things enough that everything I told you probably wouldn't happen. It might even make things worse."

Usopp smiled a little at me. "So, why did you feel the need to tell us? Everything from here on out is going to be different, now."

I looked at him like an idiot. "Why wouldn't I tell you guys? If you had some major secret that could affect me, then I would want to know."

Usopp clapped me on the shoulder. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Even if you are full of it," He chuckled at my glare. "I trust you to not do anything that would get us hurt. So, either way, I'm fine with it."

I blinked slowly as I took all of this in, and wondered idly how Usopp could have possibly matured this much? "Thanks, buddy." I croaked out.

He smiled happily before adopting a pleading tone. "Though if you happen to see like a giant bomb going off, please let me know in advance enough to get away!"

I felt the world fall into place again, and smirked evilly at him. "Actually! We, originally, got to run straight to it!"

He looked at me in horror. "Why in the world world we do that?!"

I smacked him on the head. "Three reasons! Nami is getting paid, it's for a princess, and we die if we don't"

He went from scared to happy to straight up crying in less than a minute, and I fell on my rear laughing at him. He scowled at me, and stomped off muttering about suicidal priests.

I smiled softly, and wiped a tear out of my eye, and then turned to look towards a mast. "You know, I can actually see through those things."

Nami slunk out of her hiding spot to glare at me. "I wasn't hiding from you. I didn't want the crew to be around for this." She looked around hesitantly, and we walked to the prow to speak. She dropped her glare to look at me sadly. "How… How much do you actually know?"

I sighed heavily, and leaned against the rail. "A lot. I don't want to say I know everything, but enough to know you're tough as nails."

She smirked sadly at me. "So, basically everything?"

I nodded, and rubbed my arm brand. "You know, I could tell you what's going to happen…"

She looked at me in anger. "I don't want your false hope. I know what I need to do, and I've almost got enough to do it."

I nodded quickly. "I know. I didn't mean to be rude… It's just… Luffy is stronger than you give him credit for." I turned to look her in the eyes for good measure. "We all are, and now you're our Nakama. That means something."

I saw a conflicted expression cross her face, and she turned to leave. I quickly told her something she needed to hear. "You can have my 30%, and there's a couple 100,000 Beri in my chest. You can have it all, but... leave my necklace."

She stopped mid stride, and thanks to my eyes, I saw a tear fall down her cheek before she headed for her room. I turned to face the ocean covered in a shroud of darkness thinking about what I had just done. " _I might have given away my biggest advantage to staying alive… Now, everything will be different. If they ask me for something, then I'll have to tell them."_ I rubbed my chin in thought. " _Well… I could go the other way, and choose what I tell them. That would give me some semblance of control."_ I shivered as a thought crossed my mind. " _Or, it would just place the blame solely on my shoulders when we all end up dead."_ I grimaced in thought as I looked at slowly rolling waves. " _What's the right way to do this?"_


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, Naruto, nor any of their characters. I do own any OC's I write about.

 _ **Confessions and Trust**_

-x-

The first night aboard the Going Merry was a novel experience for me. I didn't have to spend the day rowing, going through Tyler's training, or wake up at the crack of dawn. I was woken up shortly thereafter though by the sounds of someone on deck.

I opened my bleary eyes, and stretched a little before rolling out of my hammock. I forgot, however, that my hammock was more than a couple feet off the ground, and ended up with a nice bruise on my forehead. "Damn newfangled swinging beds." I grumbled under my breath as I reoriented myself to the new living arrangements.

I saw Luffy snoring happily in his hammock, and Usopp doing the same. I flicked my vision to the deck, and found that it was Zoro Who had woken me up. He was currently in the middle of weight training from the looks of things.

I sighed in relief as I felt my chakra start circulating, and wake me up completely. I quietly pulled out the katana I had stolen more than a year ago from my sea chest. I idly noted how all of my money was gone except for my necklace, and smiled a little inwardly. Finally, I went above to speak with the swordsman.

Zoro halted his training enough to glance over at me, and I gave him a nod. He grunted, and started to finish off his set while I stretched myself out a little bit. Eventually, he threw his bell bar down to walk over to me. "Where'd you get the katana? I thought you used knives?"

I held it out for him to inspect, and he took it to look over. "I stole it from some pirates… who stole it from the Marines. It came with a gun, and uniform too."

Zoro grunted. "It's a show piece. It can cut fine, but it's more decorative than anything."

I smiled ruefully. "Yeah, I figured as much." I coughed a little awkwardly. "So… if you need a sparring partner, I could use some instruction."

He looked up at me in surprise before he started to smirk. "Deal, but you have to give me a good fight."

I grinned as he handed me back the blade, and stuffed one of his own into his mouth. "I'll give you a workout."

I ducked down as he slashed at me with his mouth blade, and felt a tear on my shirt as he cut me with his blades. I grimaced, and flared my chakra to work my way behind him with a front flip over his head. I stopped my motion by sticking to the rigging above his head with chakra.

I saw him twirl to block the blow he thought would be behind him, and I slashed my katana down at his head to lop off some of his hair. He quickly ducked below my range, and angled his blade to chop at the rigging. I scowled, and slid over to stop him from ruining my footing, and he blasted my sword aside in a show of brute strength.

I felt the blade dig into the wood, and barely had time to let go before he swung another blade towards my arm. I hastily extended my hidden blades to cross before me, and catch his katana. I swung them up, and outward to redirect his blow, and dropped from the rigging to attempt an aerial assassination on him. He scowled, and used the other two blades to block my hidden ones. I smirked as he literally held me aloft, and planted a steel toed boot in his face to springboard off of.

We ended up backing away to observe one another, and then lunge into combat again. He would use his three blade style to outmaneuver me along with his strength, and I would use my chakra and hidden weapons to attack him in his blind spots.

We ended up sparring late into the morning before anyone else came to find us. I was covered in rags with small cuts all over, and Zoro had bruises showing alongside some needles sticking out of his clothes.

Nami was the first to see us, and she let out an audible gasp before running over to yell at us. "What are you two doing?!"

Zoro and I were broken out of our tunnel vision at her exclaim, and took a second to recover. I blinked and looked to Zoro for confirmation before speaking. "Training?"

Nami stood stock still for a couple of seconds before stomping over to me, and planting one fist firmly atop my head. "What kind of training leaves you both bloody?!"

I rubbed my head angrily, and pouted at her. "The good kind!"

She smirked at me in an evil way. "Oh? Then let me help you train!"

I blanched in terror, and turned to hide behind Zoro. "Zoro! We gotta talk some sense into her! She wants to train us!" I paused briefly to consider what I just said, and shook my head furiously. "I mean beat us up!" I nodded quickly to myself in assurance that that was the proper way to explain things.

Zoro was idly plucking senbon out of his wounds, and glanced behind himself to smirk at me. "What? You can't take her yourself?"

I glared at him. "What are you saying?! You can't hit women!" I blinked in confusion before amending myself. "At least not friendly women."

Zoro and Nami both froze to look at me oddly. Nami was the one to speak about it though. "That's not something a pirate would say, Zach"

I glared at her. "Yeah, well I'm not a pirate. I'm a Straw Hat, now. We're a breed unto ourselves" I smirked happily to myself at that.

Luckily, Luffy came out at that moment. "Straw Hat? What's that?"

I blinked in confusion, and facepalmed at my slip. "Sorry… it's just what people will call us. The Straw Hat Pirates."

Luffy looked at me with a big goofy grin on his face. "I like it! Shishishishi!"

I felt a smile tugging at my face, and saw the other two smiling as well. I took this moment to sneak farther away from Nami. "So? Time for breakfast?"

Luffy perked up at that. "Food! Good idea, Zach!"

Zoro looked around, and slunk back to his weight set. "Let me know when it's ready."

That left Luffy looking between me and Nami expectantly. I looked at Nami curiously, and she smiled sweetly at us. "I'll cook for you guys!" Luffy cheered happily. "As long as you pay me for it." Luffy was still cheering, but Zoro turned to look at Nami in disbelief before returning to training.

I sighed heavily, and turned to the kitchen. "I'm not paying you. So, I guess I'll cook."

I saw Nami's pout as I passed her, and headed up to inspect the kitchen. It really was nice. Definitely a lot better than the iron stove in my cabin. I decided to keep it simple, and made eggs, bacon, and toast.

I had barely finished when Luffy ran in to sit at the table. "Is it ready?"

I blinked in confusion before pulling the food back hastily. "WAIT!" I smacked his hand away with side of my knife. "We need the rest of the crew!"

Luffy pouted, and turned to inhale deeply, and below. "FOOOOOOD!"

He turned back to me expectantly, and I felt my jaw drop. "How hungry are you?!"

He held up his hand to gesture widely. "So hungry! I didn't eat anything _All_ night!" He shook his head sadly as if it were a great crime to sleep instead of eating.

I numbly sat down, and pushed about a third of the food to him, and gave everyone else their share as they sat down. I saw Usopp scowling angrily at Luffy, and poked him in the side to get his attention. "Why are you mad at Luffy?"

He pouted a little, and then went back to glaring. "His shouting woke me up, and I fell out of my hammock."

I blinked in surprise. "You were still asleep?!" I practically barked at him.

He and everyone else looked over to me in confusion. Nami spoke up. "What's so surprising about that?"

I looked at them all in confusion, and then added in realization. "You guys never spent the night in Syrup!" I said in response. "He always woke up at the crack of dawn to run through town."

I saw them all nod in understanding before we looked over to Usopp in tandem. He looked around nervously, and finally sighed. "I used to do that because it made my mom happy. Now… I don't have to. I'm sure she'd be happy knowing I'm following my dreams."

I smiled at him, and slung an arm over his shoulder. "Aww, Usopp. That's so cute!" I surreptitiously winked at Nami, and rolled my eyes towards the kitchen.

He glared at me. "What do you mean cute?!" He pushed my arm off to hold a fist up. "I'm a brave warrior of the sea! I don't do cute!"

I looked at him in confusion before turning to the crew. "When's the last time you heard of a brave warrior of the sea sleeping in, AND falling out of a hammock."

Nami caught on, and continued. "I heard all of the brave warriors get up early enough to work."

I pointed a finger at Zoro. "Yeah! Like Zoro! He trains every morning."

Zoro grunted with little interest, and Nami continued. "Yeah, but even you did more work than the brave warrior."

Luffy nodded happily. "Yeah! and it tastes great!"

Usopp looked around angrily. "Oh, yeah? What'd he do?"

I pointed at the food on his plate. "I cooked!"

He pushed his shoulders back to gloat. "Well, the Great Captain Usopp could cook _way_ better food than this!"

I put my face right in front of him in challenge. "Oh, yeah?" I glared at him. "Are you saying you're going to take over my job?!"

Usopp poked me in the chest. "Of course! If you can do it, then the Great Captain Usopp can as well!"

I sighed happily, and leaned over the table to high five Nami. "Good job!"

She smirked, and leaned back to happily eat her food. "Too easy."

Usopp looked back and forth as realization hit him like a ton of bricks, and he started to cry out in outrage. "Wait! I've been tricked!"

I put a hand to my mouth to stifle my smile as everyone started to point out their favorite dishes. Luffy was particularly specific with "Meat", and Zoro with "Booze"

Not all of the time onboard was spent in fun and games, though. We also had to learn to properly sail the Going Merry, and that meant going over plenty of drills with Nami yelling at us. Luffy soon discovered his special seat, and Zoro found the best places to nap.

-x-

I spent my time floating between activities. I spent some time with Usopp experimenting.

"So, if we can properly store the pressurized gas, then we could make this grappling hook go farther. What do you think?" Usopp asked me as we poured over his designs.

I nodded along to what he said. "The hard part isn't collecting the gas, but in building the container." I pointed at a section of his design. "We would need a strong enough metal to hold it, and an apparatus to refill it."

Usopp nodded in understanding as we worked out more sketches. "How about this?" He showed me another sketch, and we soon found ourselves buried in ink and paper.

-x-

I also spent time with Nami working on my thieving skills.

"Wrong again! If you cut the bag, then the mark will notice halfway down the street." Nami exclaimed happily at me. She seemed to like correcting mistakes.

I groaned. "By the time they see me, I'll be gone."

She smirked as she took the bag back from me. "Not if you're in a Marine town, and they saw your face."

I glared at her. "Who would steal from a Marine in a Marie town?" Nami looked to the side guiltily, and I facepalmed. "Of course you did."

She glared at me haughtily. "You're just jealous because I'm good enough to get away with it."

I shrugged. "Yeah."

She pointed a finger at me. "Don't deny it!" She blinked in confusion before looking at me oddly. "What did you say?"

I smirked at her. "I agreed with you. Listen, if I was good at this, then I wouldn't have asked for help."

She processed that for a moment before returning to lecture mode. "Then, listen up." She stuck the coin purse back in her pocket. "The best bet would be to switch out the bag. It's more motion, but if you're taking Marine intelligence from a Marine's pocket, then you should work to cover your bases."

I nodded dutifully as my eyes flashed blue to remember everything. We then proceeded to practice pickpocketing, and other forms of thievery.

-x-

I spent time sparing with Luffy and Zoro… Okay, I'll be honest. It was mostly Zoro.

"Woah! He can run on water!" Luffy exclaimed. "Look, Zoro!"

Zoro smacked him over the head. "Quit saying that every time!" He dropped into a combat stance. "Get out of the way, we're still sparring."

I leapt onto the ship to block one blade with my katana, ducked another, and took one with my hidden blade as I landed safely. I glared at Zoro. "Quit throwing me overboard, you overpowered freak!"

He smirked at me. "Not my fault you can't take a punch."

I slashed at him with the hidden blade in my boot, and we backed away from one another. "Okay, that's it!" I pulled out a handful of senbon to toss at him. I grinned evilly as I saw maybe half of the hit their mark, and his arm movements slow down. "Not so easy, now! Huh?"

He glared at me, and dropped into a stance I was coming to hate. "Oni…" I hastily pulled my vambraces up to block. "Giri!"

I felt him cut into my armor, and push me back towards the edge. "Don't you do it, Zoro!"

I saw his trademark smirk as he lifted a foot to kick me over the edge again. "That's for the needle thing." He smirked happily as he saw me running back towards the ship in an attempt to not get left behind.

-x-

I even had time to work on my chakra.

I was currently sitting in the crow's nest with my eyes closed. I was trying to expel chakra from any and all of my tenketsu on command. I was having trouble getting them to open all at once, and was starting to get annoyed.

Eventually, I heard someone climbing up the mast. I looked through the floorboards to see Usopp climbing up. He got to the top, and sat on the ledge. "What's going on? You've been up here a while."

I opened my eyes to look at him frustrated. "I told you about tenketsu points, right?"

He nodded a little. "I remember you saying they were like special pores on your body that you can shoot chakra out of."

I nodded a little. "basically, yeah. There are around 361 that I know of, and if I focus on each individually, then I can use them perfectly now. However, I want to try using them all at once, and can't get them to work properly."

He nodded in understanding. "So, is it a mechanical issue, or user error?"

I frowned at him. "It's not mechanical. I know that it's possible to do. I just can't seem to get it."

Usopp hummed in thought. "You know what always helps me?" I shook my head. "working on a side project. I go out, and practice shooting, or read a book. Then, when I come back to the problem, I come at it with a clear head." He gestured vaguely with his arm. "Isn't there something you could work on instead?"

I scratched my chin in thought. "Well… I have been putting off something for a while now…"

Usopp brightened up, and nodded happily. "There! Just work on that for a while now."

I smiled, and patted him on the back. "Thank, Usopp." I scratched my chin again before looking at Usopp. "Say… you don't have any balloons do you?"

Usopp quirked an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. "Yeah, just let me go get them."

I smiled a Luffy size grin, and followed him down. "Thanks! This is really going to help."

-x-

However, eventually, life catches up to you. Or, in this case, the storyline catches up to you.

I was brought out of my balloon practice to the shouting of Luffy on the deck. I dropped the burst open balloon to see Luffy proudly holding a… creative Jolly Roger. I smirked, and walked over to Nami. "That's a good looking flag, Luffy!"

He pointed at me happily. "See? Zach likes it!"

I got a fist over the head from Nami. "We are NOT sailing around with that thing!"

Usopp started laughing proudly. "Don't worry, Nami! I'll handle this!"

He then proceeded to draw his version of the Jolly Roger, and, to the other's horror, my smile kept growing until it almost beat Luffy's own. Finally, Nami couldn't take it any longer. "What is it, Zach? He won't show us!"

I smirked a Zoro smirk, and walked away. "Just wait!" I took a seat on the railing, and cast my gaze out to sea. Eventually, I found a certain rock in the distance. I flicked my vision through the rock, and saw Johnny and Yosaku moored to it.

I turned my gaze back the crew, and saw them smacking Usopp over the head. I smiled at his antics and grumbling. Eventually, he held up the Jolly Roger I had come to know. I smirked, and helped them hoist it. I sighed happily at seeing our now official pirate flag.

I smirked towards Luffy. "Should we paint the sails to?"

Luffy had that grin of his on full power. "Paint the sails!"

I turned to take a paint can, and walked up the mast to help Usopp outline our new logo.

-x-

An hour later, we found yourself stretched out on the deck. Usopp spoke up first. "Man, I am tired…"

I was about to agree with him until I heard a loud cannon blast go off near my head. I glared up at Luffy who was pouting. "Aww, I missed."

Zoro turned to yell at him. "Hey, what are you doing?!"

Luffy grinned at him. "I'm testing our new cannon!"

Usopp shouldered his way through to brag. "Stand aside, my amateur friend!" He then began to eyeball where the ball should go, and directed it at a certain rock.

I watched in appreciation as the cannon ball flew through to smack right into the rock. Luffy exclaimed. "Holy crap! You hit it on your first shot!"

Usopp looked just as surprised. "You're right I did!" He shook his head fiercely. "I mean, of course I did!"

Luffy put his hands on his hips to look at Usopp. "I've decided! You can be our sniper!"

I walked up between them to smile. "Wow, Usopp! That was a great shot!"

He stuck his nose in the air to gloat. "Feel free to bow down to my superior marksmanship."

I nodded along to what he said, and then deadpanned. "Were you aiming for those people on the rock, though?"

He froze up, and looked at me in horror. Luffy soon followed suit, and grabbed my collar. "What did you say?!"

I pointed the barely visible boat remains floating by the rock. "Look, there's part of their boat!"

They twirled around to look, and started begging for forgiveness towards the rock.

I sighed, and jumped overboard. "I'll go fish them out!"

I saw the boat start to turn towards me as I ran across the waves to pull an unconscious Yosaku above the waterline. I slung him across my back, and scanned the water. I found Johnny swimming at me from behind. I turned to see him freeze. "H-How can you do that?"

I blinked in confusion. "Oh! The walking thing?" I saw him nod. I reached out a hand. "I'll explain on the ship. Your buddy needs help." I saw him nod weakly as I threw him over my other shoulder.

I ninja leaped my way back to the ship to see two severely beaten crew members, and an angry navigator yelling at me. "Don't go running off!"

I scoffed at her. "Someone had to save- OW!" I felt a sharp pain at my back, and threw the two down.

Johnny stood up to point at me with a bloodied sword. "You're part of the pirate crew that killed my partner!"

I backed away as he started slashing at me. "Now, wait a minute!" He backed off to let me speak. "Technically, they shot him." I pointed at Luffy and Usopp.

Nami hit me over the head. "NOT HELPING!"

I scowled at her, and was about to speak when Zoro showed up. "Johnny?"

Everyone blinked in surprise, and I hurried to the kitchen. I hastily threw some limes into a basket, and came out just in time to hear Nami yell. "Go get some limes… Oh, good job, Zach."

I smiled at her, and started squeezing the juice into Yosaku's mouth. Nami started to explain. "He's afflicted with scurvy. If we're not late, then he should be fine in a few days."

Johnny hopped up to yell at Nami in tears. "Are you serious, sis?!"

Nami deadpanned at him. "Please don't call me sis…"

I smirked a little as I saw Nami go into lecture mode about the basics of sailing… blah blah blah… we're all going to die… yak yak yak. " _I think it's almost everything I had on the card except… what was it? OH! The bit about the musician. I seem to remember…"_ My eyes flashed blue. " _Dangit… I kind of just deleted that scene from the timeline. Or did I?"_

I looked up to see Yosaku pushing the limes away, and start dancing. "ALRIGHT! I'm all charged up on nutrients, and ready to go!"

Yosaku hopped into the dance. "Haha, my partner's fine, now!"

I grimaced at more of Nami's yelling. "Like hell you are! It doesn't work like that!"

Eventually the two stopped to pull a Team Rocket-esque introduction. They stood shoulder to shoulder, and put on their B.A. faces to speak. "Sorry for the late introduction. My name's Johnny."

The other started to speak around a cigarette he found. "And I'm Yosaku. Zoro used to bounty hunt with us!"

They then spoke together. "Nice to meet you all!"

I just sat back to lean against the railing. "I never would have thought the infamous Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro, would become a pirate himself."

I grinned as Yosaku started to bleed out of his… face? Anyway, he promptly keeled over to take a nap. Nami sighed deeply from her position. "That should be a lesson to you…"

Zoro grunted. "One of the many dangers of long voyages."

I spoke before Usopp could. "Oh! Luffy made Usopp a sniper." I was testing a theory.

Zoro raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. "Sounds good."

Nami smiled. "He is a pretty good shot"

Usopp stuck his nose up again. "Well, for now at least! If I see you aren't fulfilling your duties, then I'll take over as captain!"

I grinned widely as I saw it coming. Luffy poked a finger in the air. "Hey, I just had an idea! There's still one crucial position of a crew we need to fill before entering the grand line!"

Nami nodded with a smile. "That's right! We do have a fantastic kitchen after all."

Zoro even deigned to speak. "An indispensable crew member for long voyages."

Usopp spoke up. "I would really appreciate someone taking over…"

I grinned wider and wider as Luffy leaned forward. "Then you all agree with me? What this crew really needs… Is a musician!"

I whooped in delight as the rest of the crew threw insults at our captain.

I patted our crestfallen captain's shoulder. "They mean a sea cook, Luffy. You know, to cook you meat." I saw him lighten up at the prospect.

Eventually, Johnny walked up to speak. "You know, if you need a cook, then I know just the place. Of course, getting one to join is another matter. A restaurant on the seas!"

I smiled contentedly. "I've heard of it. The Baratie, right?" I saw him nod. "It's probably two or three days from here" I pulled out my Marine map to show Nami, and felt her grip my wrist heavily.

I looked up confused to see her pale white face. "W-what is this?"

I blinked in confusion. "It's a map, Nami. You have tons of them."

She shook her head fiercely to gingerly take the map from my hands. "Not like this… This is a map of the _world_."

I facepalmed in realization. "Not all of it, Nami. Even the Marines don't have that. There's still the Grand Line to map."

I saw her stiffen, and look at me hesitantly. "Can I… have this?"

I smiled widely. "All you had to do was ask."

She smiled an honest-to-goodness true smile at me before walking to the wheel, and directing us to the Baratie.

I stretched out, and heading back down to my balloon training. I had finally gotten to the point where the balloon was shaking. It looked to be pretty close to exploding, and I was eagerly waiting. However, that was when Nami popped up behind me. "Cool party trick." She opined.

I flinched at her words, and sighed in defeat as a leak popped up to drain the balloon. "*Sigh* It's not a party trick." She quirked an eyebrow. "I'm training my control. If I can make enough minute rotations inside the balloon, then it should pop instead of… leak."

She nodded in understanding. "Sounds complicated."

I shrugged. "It kind of is, but it's also kind of like I've done it before. You know?"

She smiled a little. "I guess it's kind of like me and my maps. The first time I tried, I just felt like I had been doing it for a while."

I smiled too. "It's nice to have something you're good at." I shook my head a little. "So! What'd you come down here for?"

She turned her head to the side, and scratched her nose shyly. "I… I just wanted to say thank you. I know how much a map like that is worth, and you gave it away so easily…"

I shrugged. "You're the Navigator. You can probably get better use out of it." I flashed my eyes to blue. "Plus, I've got a good memory." I winked at her.

She smiled, and leaned against the wall. "So, do you need help with that?"

I blinked in confusion. "My training?"

She nodded. "Yeah, you always find time to help everyone else train. I thought you might need some."

I frowned a little in thought. "I can't think of anything that won't possibly cripple you…" An image of Neji fighting flashed in my head. "Not that I'd be trying to… It's just that I can't really control it."

She frowned in thought, and sighed a little upset. "Fine. I'll just go steer the ship."

I blinked in confusion. " _I feel like I did something wrong…"_ I scratched my chin in thought. " _OH! The letter!"_ I ran out of the room to bump into Nami. I ended up having to grab her arm to stop her from falling. "Sorry! I just remembered something!"

I helped her up, and saw an expectant look on her face. "Well…?" She started to smile at me.

I pointed over to Luffy where he was sitting on his special seat. "It's time to read the letter!"

Nami froze for about a half a second before repeatedly hitting me atop the head, and turning away to grumble about thick skulled men. I watched her stomp off utterly confused. "What the heck was that for!" I yelled at her, and she turned back with a fist raised. I jumped over the railing. "I give up!"

She smirked a little, and walked over to Luffy as Usopp and Zoro caught on. She looked at Luffy grinning happily. "Can we see the note, Captain?"

Luffy's grin widened even further as he looked at everyone. "Sure!" He reached under his hat, and his grin started to fade. "Huh… Oops!" He grinned back at us. "I guess I lost it!"

We all simultaneously reared our fists back to hit him in the head. "YOU IDIOT!"

We calmed down enough to talk amongst ourselves. Usopp looked around. "Now what? Do we do it again?"

I shrugged. "I could write more, but it doesn't help any if Luffy loses them all."

They all nodded in unison again. Nami spoke up. "Well… we could just take you at your word?"

Zoro looked over to her in surprise. "Really? You were the one pushing hardest for us not to believe him."

I looked over at her curiously. She turned to look me in the eye. "I… might trust you a little more now."

I smiled a big goofy grin at her. "Aww! I knew I would grow on ya!"

She glared dangerously at me, and I backed away. Usopp spoke up next. "That still doesn't solve anything though… Like should we ask him about the future? It would just change everything he knows until he can't see the future!"

Zoro scratched his head. "I'm actually with Luffy on this one. Knowing too much would ruin the fun."

Luffy lifted his head from the crater in the floor to give Zoro a thumbs up. "Yay! Thanks Zoro!"

I looked at Nami. "What about you, Nami?"

She bit her lip, and looked around to the crew. "I... " She eventually let her eyes settle on Luffy who was dusting himself off. "I have something to tell you guys…"

She went to her room, and came back with a letter that was ripped open. I blinked in confusion before nodding in understanding. "So, you took the letter…"

She nodded guiltily. "I just had to know if what you said was true!" She looked at me seriously. "You know, about Luffy being strong enough… about all of you being strong enough…" She started to sag down to her knees, and tears fell down her cheeks.

The whole ship got eerily serious, and Luffy went forward to crouch in front of Nami. "What's wrong, Nami?"

She looked up to see the usually grinning idiot deadly serious for once. "Its… I just…" She broke down in a fit of frustrated punches to the deck with some tears mixed in. Eventually she just looked up to me with a clear plea for help written on her face. "Tell them?" She whispered to me.

I nodded, and pulled out a handkerchief for her to use. "It's her village. They're in trouble." I saw them all straighten up. "Have you ever heard of fishmen?" I got some shaking heads as reply. "They're like man and fish combined. On average, they're ten times stronger than normal humans." I saw some shaky nods. "Anyway, there is a crew of them on Nami's island. They came when she was little… and they-"

I got cut off as Nami stood up to speak fiercely. "They killed my mother, and forced me to work for them!" She ripped off her sleeve to show the tattoo. "They branded me with this, and forced me to make maps for them." She rubbed her eyes painfully. "The only hope I've had all this time was when they said if I could raise 100 million Beri, then I could buy the village from them…"

I chose now to jump in. "They never let you get that far." SHe froze up at my words. "They broker a deal with some weaselly Marine, and he confiscates your money." She started to cry again.

SHe glared at me angrily. "Why?! Why would he do that?"

I looked away from her angry eyes to see the same eyes on the rest of the crew. "He didn't want to lose you…His favorite human." She flinched at my words, and started to cry silently.

I turned to Luffy. "I know what you want to do… but before we go, I'd suggest we get that cook."

He looked conflicted before he looked me on the eye. "I don't want you ruining the adventure… but if it's stuff like this." He gestured to the weeping Nami. "You better damn well tell me."

I nodded dutifully to my captain. "Luffy, the guys there are tough. We could probably take them with just us. However, I know for a fact that there is an amazing cook two days away that would help a lot, and Nami doesn't need to be home for at least a week, right?" I looked to her for confirmation.

She nodded a little. "They want me to check in every now and then to keep me in line."

I looked around the crew before stepping back. "Your orders, Captain?" I asked politely.

Luffy looked around at us all, and started to rub his palm against his head. Eventually he settled back into his goofy grin, and put one foot on the railing. "Let's go get a Cook!" He pointed somewhere in the opposite direction of our destination. I heard his faint whisper on the wind with a thread of killing intent. " _and then to kick some ass…"_

-x-

A/N- Yeah, sorry about this chapter! I know you all were expecting a certain cook to show up, but I started writing, and found a great part to stop right around 5.7 k. So, I went with it. :)


	9. Chapter 9

A/N- Well, I might be having trouble sticking to the story… I keep wanting to put in fun conversations that take space away from the plot. So! I'm going to try just making my chapters longer to fit everything in. This might mean me having to throw some cliffhangers in.

 _LazyManJones96: Thanks for the review!_

 _TheKeeperOfWorlds:_ I really am debating how much he should get involved in their pasts. I'm thinking his interaction with Sanji is going to be my favorite so far, though. I've always thought Sanji needed a wingman, but I thought an _inept_ wingman would be more interesting.

 _LongPastMidnight:_ I loved the AC games as well, and when I had to equip a ninja, it was the first thing that came to mind. I can't promise that it will be his go to weapon or fighting style, but it won't be going away anytime soon.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, One Piece, nor any of their characters. I do own any OC's I write about.

 _ **Taunting The Big Guy**_

-x-

One downside to telling your friends that you know both their past and future that no one bothers to mention is the threats. I know that probably doesn't make sense, but if you think about it for a second, then it'll come to you. Yeah, the Straw Hats are a pile of neuroses in a wooden boat, and I basically told them I know their secrets… the worst was a certain green haired devil.

Yeah, Zoro has been eagerly dropping hints about what I should or shouldn't say about his past. For example, our morning sparring session went a little like this.

I hastily dodged the blade coming from above, but took the one coming from below head on. I blocked it with my katana, and slid back a few steps from the force. Zoro glared down at me, and hissed some words. "Remember. If you mention Kuina, then I cut."

I felt like crying at what had become something akin to a mantra to the green haired swordsman. "I know!" I yelled back at him as I took another cut across my chest, and felt my thoroughly ripped shirt fly away. "My awesome clothes!" I cried to myself before he Sparta kicked me off the boat… again.

-x-

Another downside would be Usopp. Just him knowing that I could potentially tell him all of the cool things he would do _as well as_ any danger he would face, had made me his favorite person to talk to.

Usopp was looking over my shoulder as I had water balloon pop after waterballoon. "So, what was the coolest thing I do? Do I save a kingdom? Wrestle a bear? Lead an army? What is it?"

I glare at him, and threw my hands up in defeat. "You really want to know?!"

He nodded eagerly. "YES!"

I glared at him in defeat. "You made a long range sniper shot from halfway across a kingdom up a mountain to save Luffy."

He looked at me with wide starfilled eyes. "Really?! How did I do that?!"

I deadpanned. "Mystery magic that would ruin the adventure."

He pouted at me. "You're just saying that so Luffy won't let me hear it!"

I grinned. "Yes. Yes, I am." I smirked at him. "Isn't it great how that works?"

He scowled and walked off mumbling about wind trajectories and propulsion systems.

-x-

An upside to it all, however, was that everyone did feel a little more at ease around me. I think it had something to do with me sharing my biggest secret, and me already knowing theirs. It could have either furthered distrust or improved our fledgling relationships, and it looks like it has improved them. Especially with Nami. When she isn't navigating, she's hanging around me or one of the others. I think she's starting to really accept being a pirate.

I was in the middle of practicing expelling chakra from my tenketsu while trying to spin without losing focus, and Nami was helping by throwing things at me. I had gotten most of my tenketsu to open together, but I still had blind spots where Nami managed to hit me. "OW! You got my funny bone that time, Nami!"

She ran up to me with faux concern. Only to smack it for fun when she got close enough. "Looks fine to me!" She winked.

I glowered at her, and smacked her elbow just so with a blunt blade. I saw her yank her now-numb arm back to glare at me. I smiled widely at her, and winked back. "Looks fine to me!" I imitated her voice.

I ducked hastily as she started trying to smack my head, and I ended up running across the deck with her chasing. "Now, you've got nowhere to go, Zach!" She held up a fist. "Take it like a man!"

I winced in memory of her punches. "No way! You hit like a ton of bricks!"

She ended up chasing me around the Merry until I noticed she hadn't been at my back for a minute or so now. I blinked in confusion, and looked to see her come out of the kitchen with Luffy in tow. I flinched as I felt a chill run down my spine, and backed away towards the railing as a precaution.

She smirked as she stomped closer. I raised a foot to leap over the ledge, and found a rubbery arm snaking around my torso. "Got him!" He whipped me back, and I ended up in a heap beside Luffy. "Did I do it right, Nami?" Luffy yelled over to the angry navigator with a goofy grin still on his face.

I rolled backwards, and glared at Luffy. "Et tu Luffy? Et tu!?" He just kept grinning while he watched from the sidelines.

She smiled sweetly to Luffy, and then winked at me. "You did it perfectly, Luffy." She rolled up her imaginary sleeves to loom over me. "Now, look away. This is going to hurt _like a ton of bricks"_ I screamed in agony at the betrayal, and the rest of the crew ended up gathering around to laugh at our antics.

-x-

It was definitely the longest two days of my life, and some of the best. We all had to start acting normal though, when we saw a certain fish boat on the horizon. Johnny came up to the railing to point it out. "There it is! The floating restaurant, The Baratie!"

Luffy jumped up to get a better look. "What a huge fish!"

Usopp was right there with him. "That's so funky!"

I was amazed as well, but pulled myself out of it to look at Usopp with an appraising eye. "Funky?"

He blinked, and shrugged. "Just felt right."

I shrugged as well, and gestured behind us. "The Marines are here!"

Everyone turned to look, and froze when they saw the familiar white and blue. Usopp ran towards his cannons. "They're not going to attack are they?"

I nodded. "Probably. Should we fight, Luffy?"

He looked at me with a goofy grin. "We should say hello first!"

I felt my jaw drop, and watched as Johnny and Yosaku took positions to speak to the Marines. I dropped back by Nami. "Do you want to know what have treasure they have aboard? I can see through their ship." I felt a sly grin tugging at my face.

She looked at me in shock written on her face that quickly battled with her greed. "Ugh… I'm going to regret this. What do they have?"

I grinned even more. "I spy with my little eye... at least 1.5 million Beri in jewels and notes. I see a captive. I also see a pair of Sea Prism stone shackles. Only dang things I can't see through."

She started to grin just like me, and we slowly dropped back to whisper furiously. She started. "I could act as if I were kidnapped, get onboard and loot them."

I shook my head. "No, then they'd attack us." I pointed at the restaurant. "We could let them dock, and then sneak aboard."

She shook her head. "They'd set patrols." I saw her face light up. "You can get us in before they dock! Just walk us over, and we'll sneak the money out!"

I frowned as I thought it over, and looked up in shock as a cannon fired at us. Luffy hastily inflated to redirect it. "I got it!" He yelled.

We all watched in shock as he hit the Baratie with a cannon ball… I looked over at Nami. "Jump on! Perfect distraction!"

She blinked in surprise before hastily jumping on my back. Together we waved to Zoro, and hopped off into the water. I flared my chakra, and carried her along as I sprinted to the ship, and slid into cover of their shadow. I took a second to see if they saw us, and then hopped up to walk up the side of the ship towards a cannon port. I flinched a little at Nami tightening her grip around my neck, and noticed her eyes tightly closed in fear of either falling or being seen. I inspected the cannon port to make sure the coast was clear, and slid in. I hopped down to the floor, and crouched for Nami to hop off. Eventually I got tired of waiting and whispered. "You can hop off now!"

I heard some grumbling, but she hopped down to look around. "Where is the treasure?"

I pointed to my left. "Third door on the right. It's in a chest. Can you open it?" She nodded. I grinned. "I'm going that way for a second." I pointed over to the right where I could see both Gin, and a pair of handcuffs I wanted.

I took a step away, and felt her digging her nails into my arm. I looked back in surprise at her angry face. "You can't just leave me here!"

I smiled awkwardly. "I wasn't leaving. I just wanted to say hi to the prisoner."

She snorted angrily. "Not good enough."

I sighed. "I was also going to help him out. He's starving, Nami."

She blinked in surprise, and turned away. "Just hurry up." I heard her whisper at me.

I blinked in surprise at how easy that was. " _I guess she isn't such a mean old witch."_ I thought to myself as she snuck away.

I smiled, and headed to the right. I found the prisoner cells to be empty except for him. He also quickly noticed me, and looked ready to say something. I hastily held a finger to my mouth to silence him. "Do you want out?" I saw him nod quickly. "Okay, but keep it quiet." He nodded hastily. I turned to pull out the drawers of one of two desks in the room, and stuff a pair of handcuffs into my bag along with the keys. I then made my way over to the cell, and tried the keys on it. I scowled, and made my way over for more keys in the other desk's drawers. "What's your name?" I asked curiously.

I could hear how parched he was as he spoke. "G-Gin."

I nodded. "Nice to meet you. I'm Zach."

He croaked out in question again. "Why are you helping me?"

I smiled up at him. "I'm a pirate too. You know how it is. Anyway to stick it to the Marines, and all that."

He blinked in surprise before settling back down as I finally turned the lock. "Thanks…" He managed.

I shrugged it off. "There's a restaurant nearby. If you ask for Sanji, then they should feed you." He nodded before running out of the room.

I smiled a little, and ran over to the treasure room to see Nami stuffing the last of it into the bag. "About time… Here, carry this bag… and me." She looked embarrassed at having to be carried, and I snorted in amusement. She quickly fixed my impression of her being nice with a hard pinch to my ear.

I threw the bag over one shoulder, and Nami over the other. "Sure thing!" She squealed a little before quieting down. I snuck back out of the cannon port to hide out of sight, and eventually heard a commotion as Gin appeared in the restaurant. I chose that moment to sprint over to our ship under the guise of another distraction.

We ended up making it safely back to the ship to find it empty. I gently placed the treasure down, and sat Nami atop it. She glared at me for second before looking away. "Thanks, Zach."

I smirked. "Now, was that so hard?"

She growled at me. "YES."

I laughed happily until she elbowed me in the gut. I eventually wheezed out a response to her cruelty. "Hide that, and then we can go meet the cook!"

She smiled a little as she stowed the treasure, and came back with a small wad of bills. She caught me looking at it, and she explained. "To pay for the food."

I nodded in understanding. "You ready, Miss Navigator?"

She scowled at me. "Sure thing, _Priest."_ I smirked back at her.

-x-

We found our Nakama seated at a table being waited on by Sanji. I went around to sit between Usopp and Zoro, and Nami sat by Johnny. Of course, when she sat down, Sanji noticed her, and swooned over to her in a whirlwind of love. He plopped down on one knee to take her hand to kiss. "O'blessed are the oceans for bringing me this fine day! O' Love laugh if you will, at my poor self who cannot endure his tortuous passions! As long as I can be with you, I am prepared to walk across any path be it pirate or devil! But alas, 'tis tragic there is such a great obstacle between the two of us!"

I felt my jaw drop at the next level flirting being done by the man, and stood up to clap as I wiped a tear out of my. "A true gentleman!" I got a smile from Sanji, and a fist to the head from Zoro and Usopp. I scowled at the two of them as I sat down unhappily. "No appreciation for the arts." I grumbled at the two.

I pouted as I sat, and I faintly heard a peg leg approaching us. "By obstacle, do you mean me, Sanji?" I turned to see the not-so-famous-anymore 'Red Leg' Zeff leaning against the wall.

Sanji spun around to glare at the old man. "Agh! The Geezer!"

Zeff scowled down at the lot of us, and I watched on with interest. "It's like T.V." I whispered to Usopp.

Zeff shot a quick glare at me. "It's a good chance, go and be a pirate. I don't need a guy like you in my restaurant."

Sanji got riled up, and started yelling. I took this moment to steal some bread from the table next to us. I saw a child catch me in the act, and winked with a finger over my lips to shush her. She nodded a little with a smirk, and I turned back to see Sanji flying through the air towards me. I blinked in surprise, and bit down on the bread. I hastily channeled chakra into my hands and feet to stick to him as he crashed through the table. I stayed in my position, and reoriented him to land on his feet. I saw him blink in surprise before nodding to me. He then glared at the old man while I started chewing my bread. "You can try to chase me out all you want! But I'll continue to be a cook here, you hear?! Until the day you die, at the very least!"

Zeff snorted loudly. "I ain't dyin' at least not for a hundred years or so!"

Sanji barked back at him. "Pretty mouthy for a geezer!" Sanji kept on glaring at the man until he had wandered off.

Luffy popped up out of nowhere to speak to Sanji. "Haha! Alright! He gave you permission, now we can be pirates-"

Sanji yelled at Luffy now. "AS IF!"

I watched in awe as Sanji began sweet talking Nami again. "Forgive me for that ruckus just now. As an apology, please enjoy this fruit macedonia. And this glass of Grand Mariner.

Nami cooed at him. "Oh! Thank you so much." She smiled at him. "You're so nice!"

I hastily pulled out a notebook to write some things down. Usopp looked at me oddly. "What are you doing, Zach?"

I slammed my notebook shut before he could see. "These are going to be the key to me sweet talking just as good as that man!" I pointed across the table to Sanji who froze at my words.

He looked over to me slowly with an eyebrow quirked. "You're taking notes on me?"

I nodded emphatically. "Absolutely, teacher!" He flinched a little at my title for him.

He sped across the table to look at my notebook. "Let me see."

I nodded happily, and let him read it. His face soon turned red, and he threw the notebook down to stomp away. Nami blinked in confusion before picking up the notebook. Her face took on a confused look before she started laughing. Finally, Usopp couldn't stand it anymore. "What does it say?!"

Nami wiped a tear out of her eye to read from my notebook. "Suit up! Grow a soul patch. Lure them in with food. _**Extreme**_ humility." I nodded along sagely to her words.

"It's the essence of his flirting style! With it, I could get any girl!" Zoro snorted, and everyone else burst out laughing.

I blinked in confusion, and looked at Nami. "Why are they laughing?"

She smirked at me. "They're probably imagining you with a suit and soul patch! I know I am!" She started laughing again.

I made a Luffy deadpan face as I explained something to her. "You _obviously_ don't know the power behind suiting up! 'No woman can resist a man in a suit! True story' -Barney Stinson." I nodded sagely at the wisdom I had just provided.

Zoro snorted again. "Who's that?"

I looked down upon the disbelievers with _even more_ sagely wisdom. "One of the best sweet talkers that the world has ever seen… a true man!" I bowed my head for a moment of silence to commemorate the legend that is Barney Stinson.

Nami smiled at me. "Why do you want to know how to flirt, Zach?"

I deadpanned at her. "Obviously it's so I can find a beautiful woman" I proclaimed loudly for all to hear. I then wagged a finger admonishingly at her. "and it's sweet talking! There _is_ a difference." I rolled my eyes a little at her ignorance.

For some reason that seemed to upset her because she scowled at me. "Are all men this dense?" She cursed at me under her breath.

I looked at the others and found they were just as confused as well. I shrugged it off as inconsequential, and turned to eat some more free food I 'found' on other tables. "So, how long is Luffy going to work here again?"

Luffy yelled across the room. "A week!"

I flinched as I heard Zeff yell from the kitchen. "It'll be a year , and nothing less!"

I saw Luffy pouting as he started to carry in dirty dishes, and frowned at the crew. "So, should we just enjoy the free food?"

I got a hard smack to the back of the head. I turned to yell at whoever hit me, and found Carne glaring at me with a scary smile and a heavy stick in hand. "Hello, you squid-faced bastard! You need to _pay_ for that food!" I paled a little, and turned to see Nami had already disappeared with our money.

I smiled in what I thought was a charming way at the ugly cook. "Do you accept credit?"

-x-

Despite the somewhat shaky start, the next two days were actually pretty great. I repaid Carne with money liberated out from under Nami's nose. I got lots of good food, and most of it was free! I also happened to get beaten by a stick for some of that time; totally unrelated to the free food I found, or the money I liberated. I even kept up my practice, and, most importantly, I followed Teacher Sanji around.

"O' sweet lady love has once again been all too kind to us! To have such a beautiful women appear before me, I can die happily now!" Sanji cooed at a young woman who was dining with her boyfriend. I was dutifully writing what he said down, and felt the need to speak.

"Great job, Teacher! I'm sure this one will accept you!" I shouted cheerily over at Sanji.

Sanji froze up, and turned to glare at me. "Will you quit following me around!?"

I stood up to hold my notebook proudly. "Don't be silly! If following you has taught me anything, then it's to never give up! To pursue something even when everyone begs you to stop! Just like you with all of your women!" I shot out a quick thumbs up to the embarrassed Sanji.

He ground his teeth on his cigarette, and turned back to the lady. "Please ignore the simpleton. We think his mother tried to smother him, and just dropped him on his head instead."

She giggled at Sanji. "It's fine, I think you should get back to one of your other women though." She winked playfully. "I have a date here." She turned her shoulder on Sanji, and I thought I actually saw frigid winds fly by him.

I saw Sanji slump in defeat, and start to walk away. I ran over to him. "Don't worry, Teacher Sanji! I'm sure you can get a woman someday!"

I could hear his teeth grind as he growled at me. "I probably could have had twenty by now if you weren't following me around all day!"

I blinked in confusion before looking at him in shock. "are you saying…"

He nodded viciously at me. "YES!"

I gulped in nervousness. "I don't know… I mean I only have a couple notebooks of notes…"

He glared at me with intent to stomp on my head if I didn't leave. "That's still too many!"

I nodded a little more firmly. "You're right, Teacher Sanji!" Another twitch from Sanji. "I need to forget the notes, and stop following you around." He seemed to sag in relief at my words. I think I even saw a tear fall to the ground. "It's time for the student to assist the teacher!"

Sanji flat out fell onto the ground in surprise before hopping up to yell at me. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'ASSIST' ME?"

I blinked in surprise. "Well, you said that it's time to stop following you. That _obviously_ means that I'm ready to take the position as wingman!"

Sanji's cigarette turned to ash in a second as he blew his top. "FINE! I don't care! Just stop following me!"

I nodded sagely to his words. I scratched my chin in thought as he went back into the kitchen. I looked over the crowd, and didn't find anyone I really liked. " _I should settle for playing wingman until I found someone good, and then teacher will help me out in return!"_ I nodded happily to myself at this spectacular course of action. I turned to the restaurant filled with women, and smiled cheerily. " _Now, I just need to give them a reason to talk to Sanji…"_

-Sanji's P.O.V.-

I finally got rid of that short idiot. He had the right idea recognizing my skill with the ladies, but he was just too horrible to be around. Every Time I got close to winning their hearts, he would swoop in to ruin the mood with his idiotic _cheering_. "At least I can go about business like I usually do.

I swept open the kitchen doors to carry in the tray loaded with my superior cuisine. I brushed by that shitty cook, Carne, with a glare, and went to my table. "For the madam, I have an exquisite creme brulee!" I glared at her sorry excuse for a date. "And, you got some soup."

I whipped out a napkin to place on the ladies lap, and she burst out laughing at me. I blinked in surprise, but went with it. "What has a beautiful woman such as you in such a good mood?" I smiled dreamily at her.

She pressed a hand lightly to her lips to smirk. "Oh, your friend was just telling me stories about you." She added breathlessly.

I glanced around a little warily. "I do hope my friend hasn't upset you." I caught sight of that short idiot leaving out the doors, and glared at his back. " _If you upset this beautiful woman, then I will end your life!"_

She waved a hand hastily as she and her date let some more chuckles escape. "Oh, no! We're not upset. We actually found it to be quite… informational." She and everyone a couple of tables around started laughing uproariously at her words.

I felt cold sweat drip down my back as everyone in the room turned to look at us with smiles on their lips. I forced a smile at the lady. "What, pray tell, did my friend say?"

-Zach's P.O.V.-

I was happily lounging on the Going Merry with Usopp right beside me. I was regaling him with tales of my graduation from student to wingman. "So, I went up to every single one of the ladies, and gave them all of the good qualities of Teacher Sanji!"

I saw Usopp smile at that while he was working on his pressurized canister. "Uh huh, and I bet you told them about how amazing he is?"

I scoffed at him. "Of course not!" I leaned in conspiratorially. "You might not know this, but women like to think they can 'fix' a man."

I saw him look over at me oddly. "And you know this how?"

I smirked at him. "If television has taught me anything, then it's that women love a bad boy."

Usopp looked at me with a smile soon stretching across his face. "So, does that mean you told them _bad_ things about him?!" He leaned forward in his excitement.

I was about to answer him when one of the doors leading into the restaurant flew off of its hinges and into the water. I looked over in surprise as Sanji ran out with the clear sound of all of the customer's laughing at his back. "ZACH! Get your ass up here, and let me kick it!" Sanji hollered out to the boats docked around the Baratie.

I blinked in confusion, and shook my head sadly. "Gosh, it looks like he didn't manage to win anyone over…"

Usopp was holding his gut as he started laughing. He breathlessly leaned over to ask me. "What… haha! What did you tell them?"

I sighed. "I just told them about him needing a woman _really_ bad to straighten him out. I then told them about how he curls his eyebrows to look cool, how he doesn't know how to cut his hair -or shave-, and just a lot more stuff to make women think there's stuff to fix, you know?"

Usopp stopped laughing to look pitifully at Sanji, and sit up ramrod straight to look at me with a pleading look in his eyes. "Zach… I am begging you to _Never_ help me with women… ever!" I blinked in confusion at his pleading.

I put a fist to my palm in sudden realization. "Oh, I get it! You love Kaya so much that you don't want me to ruin it by giving you other options!" I nodded sagely to myself while Usopp looked to be fighting for control of his emotions. I saw anger, embarrassment, relief, and… depression? I put a hand on his shoulder consolingly. "Don't worry. I can help keep women away from you if you want?"

Usopp visibly stiffened at me words. I saw his jaw clench, and sweat pour down his face. Finally, he managed to squeak out. "I'd prefer if you just… kept your distance."

I shrugged in indifference before looking to Sanji stomping around the Baratie. "That's fine. I think I'll have my hands full with Sanji anyway." Usopp sagged in relief, and I went over to my notebooks to consult the current issue. "This may have to be a long term goal…" I muttered to myself.

-x-

After a couple of days enjoying the luxuries the Baratie had to offer, the plotline was finally catching up to us. It happened just after another round wingman with Teacher Sanji. He decided pon new tactic for me to try that involved distancing myself from him. I didn't see the benefits, but he was pretty adamant. So, we went along with it.

Anyway, after our meal we made our way back to the ship, and enjoyed some of the leisure time we were given. I was currently working on breaking down the shackles I took from the Marines to see if they could be incorporated into my weapons, when Nami plunked down beside me. "What are you working on?" She asked disinterestedly from my side.

I shrugged as I pulled the materials closer to let her see. "I got them from the Marines. They're like my necklace. I wanted to incorporate them into my weapons."

She leaned forward with some interest now. "So, if you can make them work, then you could fight Devil Fruit users like normal people?"

I nodded. "Yeah, except I can't figure out how I should go about molding them… I can't cut them… If I use fire, then I need it to be a lot hotter than I can get it aboard a ship…"

She hummed in thought. "Well, you won't need them right away, right?"

I shook my head. "Nah, it's more of an insurance policy for the Grand Line. There were Devil Fruits everywhere there."

She blinked in surprise. "You sound like you've been there."

I turned to finally look at her, and blinked in surprise at her makeup. "I have… are you wearing makeup?"

She blushed. "Is it that noticeable?"

I nodded firmly. "Yeah. You're too young for that stuff. You look fine without it anyway."

Her blush got worse, but she still managed to glare at me. "I look 'fine'? What? I'm not beautiful?"

I leaned backwards afraid she might bite my head off. "When did I ever say that you weren't beautiful?"

She looked surprised this time. "But you said you had to look for a beautiful woman!"

I nodded firmly to that. "Of course!"

She pointed at me angrily. "So, you admit it!"

I finally realized my mistake, and waved placating hands at her. "You misunderstood me. It's not that you aren't pretty. I just… you're not my type, and we're on the same crew and all..." I saw fire shining in her eyes. "You have a way with words, Zachary.

She froze for a second in thought before her face turned even more red from embarrassment. "Don't make this sound like I'm coming on to you! I was just annoyed about your insulting me! You're not my type either, shorty!"

I pouted at her. "I never insulted you, and i'm not that short!"

She snorted, and turned to walk away. "Whatever, half-pint!"

I blinked in confusion, and turned to see Zoro waking up from his nap in the corner of the kitchen. "What's her problem, Zoro?"

He shrugged. "Don't know, don't care. Relationships are bad for training."

I nodded sagely to his words. "I think that should go in the notebook too." I hastily wrote it down, and went back to my tinkering. Usopp staggered in after a while, and glared at me.

I blinked in confusion as he plopped down next to me to berate me. "Why did you make Nami so mad?" He asked me in a pained wheeze.

I shrugged after some thought. "I guess I didn't have a reason, and it wasn't on purpose anyway."

He smacked my head. "Well, she took it out on me."

I winced in sympathy as I saw the beginnings of a welt swell up on his head. "All I did was say she wasn't my type."

Usopp's jaw dropped, and the now awake Zoro started chuckling. Usopp pointed at me. "If you didn't like her, then why have you been flirting?!"

I blinked in confusion. "Flirting? When? I just now learned the basics from Sanji!"

Usopp rubbed his temples sadly as a headache came on. "You've been winking."

I nodded firmly. "Mostly when we steal, rob, prank, or just all around thieve."

Usopp twitched a little as he realized how often we wink around him. "You practice a lot together."

I shrugged. "I practice with Zoro too."

Zoro choked a little in the background. Usopp continued on. "You disappeared for an hour as soon as we got here."

I gestured to the shackles I was working on. "We robbed the Marines, and orchestrated a jail break."

Usopp choked a little this time. He eventually looked over to Zoro, and sighed in defeat. "I give up. I guess we just misread the situation."

I smirked at him. "It's okay. Happens to the best of us." I gestured back to my work. "Anyway, how would you go about molding this stone?"

Usopp leaned forward to inspect it. "Interesting… it's a lot harder than steel…maybe we could build a ship-safe furnace." We soon fell into our engineering mode, and zoned out.

-Nami's P.O.V.-

Nami was leaning against the door listening in on the trio as they talked about her. For some reason, she felt disappointed that Zach didn't have feelings for her. Sure, she didn't really have feelings for him, but it was always nice to be liked. She turned to leave, and caught a glimpse of the blond cook. " _At least he's easy enough to read."_ She thought to herself.

She sighed as she walked down the stairs to where Johnny and Yosaku were playing a game of cards, and she happened to see a stack of papers tucked into Johnny's coat. She watched idly as the wind caught onto one, and when it flew away she saw that horrible face. That awful shark nose, and leathery blue skin. Those eyes without emotion, and teeth sharp enough to cut steel. She froze for a second before kneeling down to take up the paper. "What is this…?" She asked weakly.

Yosaku looked up to answer. "Those are just bounties. Kill the person on them, and turn the body in to get the reward. It's just another way to get paid."

Johnny looked over her shoulder to see who was on it. "Oh, no. Sister Nami, you should stay away from that guy. He's way too strong. He and his crew of fish-men have been causing a ruckus all over the East Blue, and no one has been able to do anything about it. That's how tough he is." Johnny added helpfully as he ignored the terrified expression taking over Nami's face while she clutched her shoulder tightly.

I numbly took the paper to stick into her shirt as she walked away. "Thanks…"

It's not like I like the way I feel when I think about him. He just always bring up those awful memories, and that awful _fear._ I had just started to really trust this crew, and then that sharkman showed up to take me back to how I felt the day Bellemere died. Alone. Scared. _Powerless._

I shook my head fiercely. I couldn't let them risk their lives for this. No one else could die because of me. It wasn't right. I wasn't worth it.

I shook my head fiercely as I started to head towards my room to pack up. "I can't do this. I have to do it on my own." I whispered to myself in reassurance. "No one else will die for me."

-x-

I looked up from our collaboration to hear the splashing of something very familiar to me. Oars in water. I looked around the room, and felt a pit in my stomach. "I think Nami just left." I said numbly to the crew.

Usopp and Zoro looked up at me suddenly. Usopp asked me with obvious reluctance. "What do you mean she 'left'?"

I pointed towards the raft only I saw pulling away behind the walls. "I can see her sneaking away with her money." I looked around us with a frown. "I know Luffy is going to be mad about her leaving alone, but we need to stay here, or we might lose the cook."

Zoro glared at me. "If we don't go, then we lose the navigator."

I frowned deeply before shaking my head. "I can go with her. I'll keep her safe. You can just come after Sanji joins up. Think Luffy will be okay with that?"

Zoro scowled at me. "No, he won't So, I'm going too."

I scowled back at him. "Mihawk is coming here. You need to stay."

Zoro froze on the spot. "He's coming here?" I nodded. He looked away conflicted. "I… I guess I'm staying. Sorry, Zach."

I shrugged it off. "Don't worry. I'll be safe. Meet me at Nami's home Island. It's called Conomi Islands" With that, I hastily ran off before Usopp could work up the courage to join me.

I saw them both nod as I ran off to grab my sea chest. I quickly searched the horizon for Nami's boat, and found it barely a mile away. I smirked, and jumped off the boat to sprint after her.

-x-

Nami was rowing rather hard for a while there. She hadn't wanted to set the sails until she was out of the cross winds from the larger vessels, but now was the perfect time to do so. She just had to catch her breath. "I am definitely not as good at rowing as I thought I was…"

She heard someone snort in amusement behind her, and she leapt up to swing at the source of the sound with her oar. She was completely caught off guard as she saw the short brown haired man smirking at her with a sea chest over his shoulder. "You know, my eyes really can see a lot." He rubbed his chin in thought. "Like when a certain redhead takes our liferaft to run off."

She slumped in her seat, and oddly enough, started to tear up. "You came for me?"

I hopped aboard. "Well, yeah. Luffy would never forgive me if you got hurt."

She smiled widely after rubbing her tears away, and tackled me into a bear hug. "I didn't want you guys to get hurt!" She started to punch me furiously as she calmed down from crying. "Why! Did! You! Follow! Me!"

I groaned out. "Stop hitting me!"

She pulled away to glare at me. "You're just going to get in my way!"

I smiled up at her. "Probably."

She kept glaring. "The others are going to come and get in my way too!"

I smiled even wider. "Definitely."

She broke down into a grin. "I'm an idiot…"

I flat out laughed. "Aren't we all?"

She scowled at me while I rubbed my new bruises. "Should… Should I turn back?"

I just opted to lean on my sea chest. "Nah, I told them where we're going. We can just get a headstart on them." I leaned over to look at the fog rolling in. "They should be able to handle the fight." I spoke softly as a ship pulled out of the fog in tatters.

Nami blinked in confusion before starting to fidget worriedly. "They're going to fight someone?"

I looked at her seriously. "Yes. Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp shouldn't have any issues though."

She looked back to the Baratie. "What about Zoro?"

I paused to scratch my head awkwardly. "He… He gets to fight someone who he _has_ to fight." She looked over curiously. "Dracule Mihawk… One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the greatest Swordsman in the World."

Nami gasped audibly before trying to turn the ship. I reached up to stop her, and she glared right back at me. "He's my Nakama" She said seriously.

I stared at her with conflicting emotions clear on my face before letting go with a relieved smile. "Yes, ma'am…"

She smirked a little, and started to turn towards the Baratie again. I just hummed in thought for a while before speaking. "If you aren't there when he expects you to be, then what will happen to your village?"

She stopped mid motion to look at me in realization. "It'll take about two days to get there… I need to be there in two days… Damn…"

I nodded before taking up the oars. "We have to go. I know you want to help, but they would understand."

She nodded numbly, and turned the vessel's sails towards the East. "Thanks, Zach."

I just shrugged lazily as I picked up an oar. "It's nothing. I get to spend time with my favorite redhead, and beat up some fishmen. It's a win-win for me." She smiled lightly as she plopped down to take up the other oar.

She looked behind us fretfully. "I hope you're right, and they can handle this…"

I smiled reassuringly at her. "Have a little faith, Nami."

-x-

The two days aboard the tiny vessel were awkward at first, but soon fell into a rhythm. We would take turns steering to get there faster, and talked to each other in the times when one of us was bored. "So, my brother and I had to figure out a way to fix the broken lamp. I figured since the cord was the only thing broken, I could tape a new piece on." I let a smile slip on my face. "Needless to say, it didn't work. My dad was actually the one to find out. He pulled us aside, and listened to our story. He laughed at my solution, and then helped me fix it. That was my first time ever working on something. It's what made me want to be an engineer like my dad."

Nami was listened closely as I steered. "So, what did your mom say?"

I smirked a little. "She probably knew right away when she saw it, but the grin my dad had on his face as I turned it on and off made her not say anything."

Nami smiled sadly. "It must have been nice…"

I felt the atmosphere turn gloomy, and changed the subject. "So… if you had to know one thing about your future… what would it be?"

She hummed in thought before frowning. "I'm assuming that Luffy is strong enough to beat Arlong… right?"

I nodded. "As long as he keeps Arlong out of the water, then Luffy can win." I scratched my chin in thought. "Actually, he can probably still win if he's in water, but Arlong could run pretty easy."

She nodded uncertainly before shaking it off, and looking at me expectantly. "How much money do I get?!"

I felt my jaw drop. "THAT'S what you want to know?!" She nodded eagerly. "Oh, well… let me see… I know you get at least 200 million, and then-" I cut myself off as I saw her eyes glaze over with a grin on her face. I smirked a little. "But! With me here… I can probably double that." She looked up at me with a positively ecstatic grin on her face.

She sidled up to me to run a finger in circles on my chest, and I scooted back uncomfortably as she cooed at me. "Thank you, Zachy~"

I flinched uncomfortably, and pushed her away by the shoulders. "Please don't do that…" I ducked my head to hide the flush I was feeling creep up my face.

She giggled, and scooted away. "You're just so easy to mess with!"

I scowled at her. "Keep it up, and you won't even get half that."

I saw her recoil in shock, and I smirked. "But! If you play nice, then I'll help you steal all through the Grand Line!" I waved my arm dramatically. "Think about it, all those pirates, royalty, and Marines just waiting to be looted."

She started to smile widely again, and drool came out of her mouth a little before she turned to me with a serious look on her face. "Hmm… I think I hear the beginnings of a deal here."

I smirked. "That sounds like a good idea. We can even get it in writing." I shook my head towards my sea chest. "In there is a notebook for you to use."

She slipped into the chest to pull it out with a pen. "So, first, we should negotiate."

I nodded seriously. "I want 70%"

She scowled at me. "You always start so high." She bit her lip in thought. "20%"

I blinked in surprise. "That's awful high for you… 50%"

She winked at me. "I've come to respect you more now." She scowled a little. "But not that much. "20%"

I felt my lip twitch. "45%"

She kept looking down calmly. "20%"

I felt my brows crease. "40%"

She started to smile a little at my anger. "20%"

I glared at her angrily. "35%"

She glared right back with a slight smile. "20%"

I hummed in thought before smiling a little. "20%, you stop trying to seduce me, and we have a deal."

She flushed a little, but nodded nonetheless. "You know, some people would bargain the other way." She glared at me.

I stuck my tongue out at her. "Sorry, cutie. Not interested."

She smirked at me. "Yeah, that's why you always get so flustered." She added sarcastically.

I glared at her with an upturned nose. "You just take me by surprise is all!" She snorted loudly at me. "Whatever. Not interested anyway" I grumbled.

She just smirked at me, and leaned into me to whisper. "Are you sure, Zachy~?"

I grit my teeth before pushing her away gently. "Positive. We're nakama, and you're just acting like this because you're bored anyway."

She sighed as she slumped down in her seat. "I know! It's so boring out here. I just wanted to have some fun… Sorry." She actually looked a little regretful in her apology.

I pouted at her. "*sigh* It's fine…I'm getting bored too. Maybe after a while I'll hook you up with a guy to liven things up." I scratched my chin in thought. "Yeah… that could work! I'm already doing such a good job with Sanji. This shouldn't be too hard." I nodded happily, and turned to see a frightened Nami.

She glared at me with equal parts fear and hate. "Okay, that's it. We're putting _that_ in the agreement too."

I sighed in defeat. "Sure thing, _Sheldon_."

She blinked in confusion. "What did you say?"

I waved her off. "Nothing. Just make sure you're sure about this. I could find you a great guy. I'm an awesome wingman. From experience, I might have to talk to a lot of guys, but I could do it!" I saw her furiously writing in the agreement, and sighed in defeat. "Fine, no wingman," I glared at her. "and next time you're bored, let's just do riddles."

She smirked at me in relief at the change in subject. "Okay, give me a riddle."

I nodded as I adjusted the sails a little thinking while I did so. I hopped down to sit before deciding on my riddle. "What has four legs at dawn, two at noon, and three at evening?"

She scratched her head in thought, and leaned against the railing. "two at noon… not a giraffe…"

I tuned her out as she mumbled to herself, and switched my eyes to blue to look over everything that was about to happen. " _I need to do something to keep them out of the water…"_ I rubbed my chin in thought. " _I could lure them away… that might work, but how would I…"_ I looked up to see Nami mumbling still, and a smile started to stretch across my face. " _ **That**_ _could work."_

 _-x-_

We made landfall at a shaded cove, and pulled some branches down down to help cover it. I hummed in thought. "This isn't really going to help if they walk under it, and see a wooden hull."

Nami sighed in frustration. "I can't think of anything better to do."

I walked up to it, and looked it over. "Oh, well. I'll just bury my chest onshore for now."

Nami kept watch while I started to dig a hole. "So… will you tell me the answer now?"

I snorted as I worked. "What's the point of a riddle if I tell you the answer?"

She huffed angrily. "Fine. But i'll remember this when it's my turn."

I laughed a little. "If you ever figure out the answer, that is." I stood up to pat myself off to take a look at my handiwork. It looked a little uneven, but hopefully, not unduly so. "So, should we start the plan?"

She walked over to stomp some of the dirt down. "I don't like it… There's a real chance that you could get hurt before everyone else shows up."

I shrugged. "If we wait for them to show up, then any chance of surprising them is gone."

She nodded a little unsurely. "So, how are you going to get their attention?"

I smirked at her. "Oh, boy are you going to enjoy my plan."

She blinked in confusion as she saw me turn to sprint into the woods. "At least tell _me_ what it is!" She sighed in defeat after Zach vanished into the treeline. "He's going to get me so killed… Ugh. Fine, I might as well just go check in with Arlong for now."

-x-

When I was out of sight of Nami I hunkered down in a branch to bite my lip in thought. I shook my head fiercely, and a wide grin soon overcame my face. "I guess if there was ever a time to wear this, then it would be now…" I quietly pulled out a white mask that had red lines depicting a cat along it. I smirked happily as I put it on. "I don't think there are any ANBU out here that would mind me taking the name Neko for some stealth operations." I dusted myself off, and drew my hood up to face towards my first objective as a Straw Hat. "Time to lure a homicidal group of mutant humans hell-bent on subjugating my species… Oh, Oda. This is going to _hurt_ " I grimaced as I jumped to another branch.

-x-

I smiled happily as I jumped around the woods until I got Arlong Park within my radius. "Hmm… there's a chance that fish-men's acupuncture points are different from humans." I zoomed in on one fish-man who looked to be part eel, and recoiled in shock. "I take that back… they are a lot different." I scanned over some of the others, and felt a pit in my stomach. "They're each different from humans, but similar to each other… I just need to find a couple to test my Gentle Fist on. If it works, then great. If not, then I'll pull from Ezio's playbook, and kill them one by one as I infiltrate." I frowned a little at the thought of killing. I hadn't done the deed yet, and was hoping to put it off. However, now wasn't the time to pull my punches, and if this works to keep Arlong away from water, then we can take him out without anyone drowning. I had to be especially careful since my involvement changed everything. I couldn't trust the villagers to pull Luffy out. I couldn't trust that anyone would come out alive. I had to take nothing for granted, and approach this in a way that has the least risk of death. Namely, keeping the freaking fism-men out of water.

I came out of my thinking to spot a group of two, and ran along the ground with muffled footsteps to sneak behind them. I started to gain on their patrol route, and quickly got close enough to be their shadow. I silently pushed chakra laced fingers into a nub by where the elbow tenketsu should be, and observed closely. I saw no visible reaction, and grimaced as they whirled on me. I chopped at both of their throats to cut off their screams, and tried a successive amount of jabs along their body with no visible reaction. I ducked the eel fish-man's hasty swipe, and scanned over their internals with rapt attention.

Finally, after looking for a full minute while dodging strike after strike and taking potshots, I saw something flicker in my vision. I saw the world come into even greater detail as my reactions soared, and my thinking accelerate to take in all of the factors I had observed. I found myself attacking in a flash at various points on their bodies to record the reactions internally. Finally, I narrowed down a few points that would incapacitate without killing. I jammed my hand along the eel's collarbone, and rammed my chakra jab into it. I saw him stiffen up, and drop to his knees to puke something up.

I whirled to face the catfish-man to see a particular nub of nerves along his hip, and jabbed into it as well. I saw his leg just stop responding, and him fall to the ground. I blinked in surprise at the new development, and finished them off with quick jabs to the temples with the handle of my knife. They fell in heaps, and I looked around in confusion before seeing a flash of green in the reflection of a puddle. I walked over to see my eyes fading from light purple to white.

I reached up numbly to feel around my eyes. "Purple… what did I just do?" I shook my head to focus. "Not important right now." I turned to the now clear path up Arlong's tower, and smirked. "I think stealing all of Nami's maps will get the shark-man to follow me."

-x-

There were a lot of people patrolling the grounds, and that made it pretty difficult to figure out a way in. Luckily, most people don't look up when they patrol. So, I proceeded with liberal use of chakra, and only had to knock out an octopus, a bass, and… I don't know what half-species of fish she was, but she was yellow scaled.

Anyway, I soon found myself sprinting up the building, and going by the manga depiction of Arlong's tower to find Nami's room. I did have the advantage of x-ray vision to assist in the search, though. I ended up finding her room about the same time Nami came in to report to Arlong. I slipped in the window to avoid unwanted eyes, and smiled widely at the maps all around me. I hastily started to roll everything up , and squish in a bag. "No need to be polite~… Going to burn it all, anyway~" I hummed out of key to myself.

I looked around the room to see it empty of all paper. I hummed in thought. "I have to leave something to let them know someone snuck in, or they might blame Nami…" I scratched my chin in thought before a smile overtook my face. "I wonder if this will get their attention…" I pulled out a knife to carve something into the writing desk. I scratched my mask's chin in thought. "This part might go against some kind of ANBU code…" I shrugged indifferently, and pushed it out of the window.

I whooped in delight as I heard it slam into the ground, and slung the bag over my shoulders. I hopped out the window, and stuck to the wall via the chakra on my feet. "HEY, FISH FACES! I GOT YOUR MAPS~"

I dodged to the left as I saw some bullets coming at me, and I ran around the building to leap off from a height of over 9 stories. I flared my chakra in preparation for the landing, and blasted some out of the tenketsu from my lower half to cushion the landing. I smirked happily. "Oooh! There might be something there." I shook my head to focus, and ninja jumped over the wall, and ran past the shell-shocked fish-men to make my escape.

-Nami's P.O.V.-

I was currently being ignored by the fish-men, something I didn't usually mind, but today was different. Her friend -no, her nakama- had just poked the hornet's nest, and ran away laughing. How could I stay calm at a moment like that? I was rudely pulled out of my thoughts by Arlong's questions. "What does this mean!?"

He held aloft the desk that had flown out. It had a line a words inscribed on it. "Time for a game of keep away. You should send your best. I'll be burning a couple for every fish-man that I beat up" I blinked in surprise before pulling on my poker face. "It sounds like he's challenging your whole crew…" She mumbled to herself.

Arlong growled. "The human in a mask thinks he can play games with us?!'

Hachi popped up to speak a word or two. "But that man did sneak into our most heavily guarded building, and managed to jump out… he also lived to run away."

Arlong turned his nose to point menacingly at Hachi. "What are you trying to say?" He growled dangerously.

Hachi backed up in surprise. "N-Nothing, Arlong!"

He smirked a little, seemingly appeased. "That's what I thought." He whirled around to yell at his crew. "Now, we are the superior race! That human has challenged us to a _game_ that he has no chance of winning. We are the superior beings!" He got a yell of agreement from them. "Go capture that man, and we'll show him what true power is!"

He was expecting another cheer, and received a lot of fish-men looking behind him instead. He turned around to see a plume of smoke and wails from his men on patrol in distance. Arlong ground his teeth in anger. The sound of metal grinding filled the air. "Change of plans! I'm going to kill him myself!" He growled, and glared over at Nami. "That trickster just burnt your life's work, why aren't you upset?!"

I froze at the attention, and slid into my persona. I quirked an eyebrow at him. "I'll just make more of them. We can't say the same about the priest after you get through with him though."

Arlong seemed pleased with that answer, and thrust his arm into the air. "Search the woods! Bring me that insect! _Alive!"_ He growled that last part with tangible killing intent that sent chills down my spine..

I watched numbly as every last fish-man streamed out of Arlong Park, and onto to dry land. " _Does he have a death wish?"_ I shook myself awake as I realized what had happened. " _He actually did it… This was the first step."_ I looked out towards the ocean. " _Now, I just have to herd the guys towards the action… I hope they make it here soon."_


	10. Chapter 10

A/N-The last chapter took me a while to post, and was actually almost twice what I usually post at almost 10k. I was wondering if I should use that as my new standard from now on. If you have any ideas or opinions, then feel free to comment, review, PM, or shout loudly at your screen! I appreciate all forms of communication. :)

LongPastMidnight- Wow, so many good suggestions for hidden weapons! I really want Zach to go ANBU all the time, but could you imagine how boring that would be?

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, Naruto, nor any of their characters. I do own any OC's I write.

 _ **Fighting Arlong**_

-x-

I was pretty proud of the way everything went with my master plan against Arlong. To summarize, I figured out where to poke the fishy looking people that seemed to be universally incapacitating, I stole some stuff, I insulted them, and I started a game of hide and seek. It was all going pretty great, in my opinion. At least until I heard loud crashes and explosions coming from behind me.

I jerked my head up in response to the noise, and stopped trying to light some more of my maps on fire. I turned my vision towards Arlong Park to see a dust cloud rising. I felt my brows furrow as I got a good look at Arlong's rampage. He was currently solving the epic game of hide and seek by eliminating the _hiding_ aspect.

He was tearing down every tree in his path, and had his crew doing the same. I could see Hachi slicing down six trees at a time, Chew was rapidly spitting water out from his oddly shaped lips to mow down the trees, Kuroobi was actually punching them down, and the rest of the crew was just going wild.

I was rapidly coming to understand what the phrase 'flipping the board' meant in real life. I furiously thought out the situation, and scowled beneath my mask. "How am I supposed to play ANBU if you just act like a brute." I shook my head sadly. "Honestly, it's like you've never played ninja." I heard one of the two fish-men by my feet start to wake up, and kicked him in the head idly. I sighed a little as I saw his eyes roll back. "Now… what would a ninja do?" I leaned my head to the side as I watched them work through the forest in typical anime-brute fashion, while I worked on a plan. I straightened up in excitement as an idea hit me. "Better question is 'what would _Naruto_ do?', and that's always an easy question. "Run at them, and beat up the bad guys."

I smiled contently under my mask as I made my way around their encirclement via some skilled ninja jumps and cover of the dust cloud. I soon found myself about as far from Arlong as possible, and set about looking for targets. I frowned in thought as the rampaging fish-men tore down more of the forest. "I should start soon…" I looked over my prospective targets, and found two groups of three that looked easy enough. I didn't see any of the three enforcers, nor were any of them clearing the trees faster than the average crew member. I nodded a little, and picked the group made up of white, blue, and yellow colored fish-men.

They were currently working their way past me, and I was close enough to smell them from my tree branch. They eventually got to taking down my tree, and I closed the distance by dropping on them like a pissed off Ezio. I went straight for the blue ones neck, and rammed some chakra into his nerve bundle. I felt him twitch involuntarily, and he lost the use of his left arm. I had to hastily drop back to avoid the right arm coming to crush my skull, and landed a few feet away from the three now thoroughly alerted combatants.

The blue one scowled, and tried to work his arm while the yellow and white charged. "It's the masked human! Squash him!" Yellow yelled as he swung an overly large hammer down at my head. I easily dodged the thing, but had to duck past white's katana that was trailing after my head in an angled swipe.

I looked at the two of them with light red eyes shining out of my mask to pull two knives from my sleeves. I quickly flung them at their feet to hinder movement, and while one stuck through the skin to impale him to the ground, the other sparked off. I blinked in surprise while white howled in pain, and yellow charged at me. I had to hastily dodge his hammer again, and got close enough to stick my hidden blade into the tendon I could see on his shoulder. I grimaced as I felt the iron like scales stop me for a moment, and ran chakra through the blade to lop off a hunk of muscle with it's increased cutting power.

Yellow howled in pain, and I had to dodge out of the way of blue smashing his fist at my back while rolling away. I felt a bruise on my back as I eyed the surprisingly resilient fish-men. "You guys are better than the others."

Blue glared at me, but let a smirk come over his face. "Well, we are the ship's guard for a reason." He gloated. I grimaced again as the three of them started to surround me. "Now, are you ready to surrender to Arlong, or do we get to have some fun?"

I growled at the trio. "I'll get back-" I cut myself off mid sentence to surprise the white one with a chakra jab to the elbow, and slipped behind him as he howled in pain at the dislocated joint. I had efficiently gotten out from being surrounded with a little misdirection. I saw blue and white leap at me from both sides of white to bombard my location, and, by some fortune of luck, I made it out of there with a forward roll out of imminent danger.

Unfortunately, the danger came back because I rolled towards a pissed off white. He proceeded to use his good arm to cut a deep gash on my upper arm. I had to hastily ninja jump up a tree to escape, and glare at them. "That hurts." I growled at the smirking white. I ripped my sleeve off to tie around the wound as the three repositioned themselves. I found it odd that they were mostly trying to surround me, and not attack. So, I played on a hunch, and scanned my surroundings. I noticeably flinched when I realized the sounds of destruction had stopped, and I turned my vision to find the 8 remaining crew members, Arlong, and his enforcers making their way towards me. I glared down at the three. "You're just stalling for time…"

Yellow glowered up at me. "Smart, human, but it's too late. Arlong will be in position. You might have taken out the weaklings, but you don't stand a chance against Arlong!" He proudly yelled up at me.

I snarled at him. "Idiot. I just need to run." I made to leap away.

Blue quickly kicked the tree out from underneath me, and I lost my platform as it fell down. I had to hastily roll away as yellow slammed his hammer into the ground by me, and I staggered along with the broken ground. White then leapt forward to keep me further off balance with his swordplay.

Somehow, they had gotten me to land in the middle of them, and now I had to defend on three sides. Which left escape practically impossible. It was hard enough to defend. It would have been impossible if I couldn't literally see out of the back of my head.

I did end up slicing more tendons as I took some hits in return. I finally managed to put my iron body technique to the test when yellow smacked me in the side with his hammer. I think white and blue were expecting me to be sent flying towards them, but I just ended up with a broken rib, and, thanks to chakra laced feet, I managed to stand on my spot.

Not-so-luckily, I ended up being surrounded by Arlong's crew thanks to blue, white, and yellow stalling me a few seconds later. I wound up bleeding and bruised, but not exhausted. Arlong was watching smugly from the sidelines as his men rushed forward to attack from all sides, but ended up stopping them as he exclaimed in surprise. "WAIT!" All of his men, and me, paused in surprise at his outburst. "Don't kill him!" He walked towards me. "Your arm. Show it to me clearly." He ordered me.

I scowled in annoyance. "Why would I do that?"

He scowled right back. "Because if you don't I'll kill you right away."

I felt the killing intent grow from him and his crew. I took a moment to think of where I was, and slowly wiped the blood away to show him the brand. That done, I turned it for him to see. "Happy?" I asked him. I took this time to take a quick look towards the ocean, and found a familiar sea cow racing towards land. " _If that's Luffy on the boat, then Zoro, and Usopp should already be here._ "When I turned my attention back towards Arlong I saw him frozen in indecision. He looked to be between righteous fury and… fear? I blinked in confusion. " _What could Arlong fear in the East Blue?"_

Eventually, Arlong awoke from his daze to breathe deeply. He looked at me unhappily. "What does _The Clergy_ want with me, and my crew?" He asked me with much more respect than he had previously shown, but still spoke that title like it was a curse.

I felt my eyes shift to blue as I thought everything over in my head. " _The Clergy?! Who is that? They weren't in the manga or anime… He obviously recognized them from the brand. That means at least two things. There are more people with chakra in the world, and they formed an organization. The name also implies that they're a religion of sorts. So, they possibly know about Ozaron?"_ I kept my vision blue as I addressed Arlong. "You know of The Clergy?" I asked him with a tinge of doubt in my voice. Enough doubt to make him feel like he should prove himself.

He spat on the ground before speaking. "Yes. They're one of the reasons I left the Grand Line!" He growled at me before collecting himself. He began again in a more collected tone. "My mentor had certain dealings with your underlings. They left an… impression on me." He scowled at me again. "Now, answer me! What does your organization intend to do in my new empire?"

I felt my eyes darken as I proceeded to think things through. I needed a logical excuse to stall for some time, or get me out of the encirclement. I coughed slightly into my mask. "If you know my group then you know I can't say much…" I hedged.

He snorted loudly. "I know your group is secretive, but a secret won't let you walk out of here alive." He leered down at me. "I am!"

I felt a cold sweat go down my back at his stare, and used my enhanced thinking to it's max as I thought of a reply. "You know what The Clergy is… and yet you still want to coerce me for an answer?" I asked with as much dignity as I could muster. I was banking on the fear I had seen earlier, and I was also hoping this group is another example of how power corrupts, and are all pompous douches.

"If you were anything like the vessel before you, then I would choose another path...But you are nothing but a child in that man's shadow! Now, tell me what you're doing here, or I make sure you die in that shadow!" He growled murderously at me.

I felt cold sweat leak down my back as I tried to speak, and settled for gulping loudly. I saw him smirk proudly at the sound, and I felt some kind of switch in me flip. I saw his smug smile gloating at my current position, and felt adrenaline _surge_.

I felt my heartbeat quicken, and my chakra move in a way it hadn't done since I got it. I felt it _sting_. It started to run along my chakra pathways like a live wire as adrenaline kicked in, and I turned my blue eyes to greet Arlong's. I spoke in a deadly calm voice as my skin started to send out small sparks subconsciously. "If you really want to know what I'm doing, then look to the ocean. I'd like you to see the Marin battleship coming as backup to evacuate the residents of Conomi Islands." Arlong dropped me to the ground in annoyance at the sparks.

Arlong glanced over his shoulder. He pointed to his enforcers. "Go check it out." He called to them. He then turned his gaze back at me as he lowered me a little. "You came all this way to save a village of insignificant, puny humans?"

I glared right back at him. "Even if I said yes, you wouldn't believe me, right?"

He looked at me for a couple of seconds before grinning widely. "You know what? I actually believe someone of your mark would do something like this…" I felt some tension leave my back. Until he opened his jaw wide to bit into my shoulder, and drag his teeth along it to open up a lot of cuts. I numbly noted that his bite had also managed to fracture my shoulder blade.

I twisted my face in a mask of pain as I felt the weak sparks die out. "Too bad that doesn't excuse burning my maps." He sneered as he ripped away the bag of Nami's maps from my back, and tossed me to blue. Blue caught me with his good arm while Arlong addressed blue rather sternly while I grimaced at the pressure of his grip. I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming as I felt my arm crack from the pressure. "Take care to make sure he stays alive. The Clergy tends to not take deaths too well… especially if he were the one to die." He smirked in an infuriating way again as he walked away. "Though, they do need to learn that this is MY empire."

I flinched a little when I felt white, blue, and yellow's sadistic gazes land on me. I just tried to ignore them as I gritted my teeth, and looked towards a certain ship that had crashed into the land. " _Luffy, you guys need to hurry up… I can't take the big guys on. I can barely handle these little guys."_ I let out a muffled scream as yellow slammed a fist into my ribs, and blue held me down.

-Luffy's P.O.V.-

"Whoa! That was fun! Can we go again?!" I looked over to Sanji in expectation only to find him glaring at me. I pouted back at him, and turned to the woods around us. "Where do you think everyone is?"

Sanji dusted himself off, and walked over to me. "I don't know for sure." He looked around a bit before nudging me in the shoulder to point at where Nami, Usopp, Zoro, and Yosaku were coming out of the forest. "I found them." Sanji blinked in confusion before turning around. "Oh, Luffy. We lost Johnny."

I gasped in surprise before I let a laugh come out. "Oops!"

Suddenly, I felt a familiar fist punch my skull. I turned to pout at Nami about it. She just glared back at me. "Honestly… Now isn't the time to be messing around."

I vaguely heard Johnny walk up beside us a little sorely, but I was focused on how my crew was acting. They all seemed anxious. "What's wrong?" I looked around in confusion. "Where's Zach?"

Nami hesitated to speak, and Zoro took over for her. "He got here first, and knew we would have trouble with the fish-men in water. So, he lured them inland…"

Yosaku wiped the tears from his eyes to yell at us. "YEAH, AND NOW HE'S DEAD!"

I felt a pit in my stomach, and that's something that has _never_ happened before. I Stretched my arms at Yosaku to pull him close. "WHAT?!"

I looked over to my crew in desperation, and saw sad looks. I felt the world sway, and noticed that Sanji had put a hand on my shoulder. He looked over everyone somberly. "I think you should explain." He spoke around his cigarette.

Nami seemed to have calmed enough to talk. "I saw him get Arlong and his men to chase him into the woods, and then they started tearing everything up to find him… Then, I heard fighting, and his..." She shuddered a little at the memory. "I heard screams… I think they were torturing him, and then it stopped." She clenched her fists in frustrations. "That's also when I saw Arlong's enforcers leave to handle the Marines."

I shook my head angrily. "So, you didn't see him die?!" I saw looks of doubt and pity, but no one disagreed. "Then, he could still be alive! We gotta go get him! He's our nakama!"

Nami seemed to feel better, and Usopp came out of his grief enough to look up. Zoro just seemed to get angrier, and Sanji put out his cigarette. I looked to them all, and asked Nami in my angry voice. "Where are they?"

She gritted her teeth, and turned to point to where a dust cloud was still hanging in the air. "They're all over there. The enforcers should be back anytime, and they'll head to Arlong Park." She raised her hands to put together her staff. "If they get there, then everything Zach worked for will be wasted. We need to cut them off. He had already taken out all but eight normal crew when they got him, but Arlong and his enforcers are still out there as well."

I clenched my jaw, and pressed my hat firmly on my head to ensure its safety. "Okay, let's go kick some ass, and save our nakama." I declared with a finality that no one was ready to argue against.

I took a step towards the forest, and I heard four people step right behind me. "Aye, Captain." They grunted out at my back.

-Zach's P.O.V.-

"Oof! ...I think you've made your point clear, blue" I whispered between spasms of pain out at the fish-man as he thoroughly repaid me for the pokes earlier. I winced as he slammed a scaled fist into my gut, and I felt blood in my mouth.

He scowled down at me. "My name isn't blue, you masked bastard!" He leaned down again to try, and rip my mask off again. I smirked a little as I flared my chakra to make it stay put, and, for some reason, I saw a minute trace of sparks running along it. "Dammit! It's still stuck like glue!" He slammed another fist into my stomach.

"What's going on here?" I heard a feminine voice call from of the dust cloud. I saw a vague outline of a _very_ welcome sight walking towards me.

Blue straightened up to look at the outline in suspicion. Nami came fully into view, and he relaxed. "Oh, Nami! I thought you were one of his friends!" He turned back to look me over. "This guy is just getting repaid for ruining all of your hard work." He gestured down at my beaten and bloody form while Nami walked closer.

I saw Nami scowl down at me as well. "Well, you look awful." She accused me bluntly, and I shrugged with only a slight twinge of pain from my ribs/arm. She seemed to notice the twinge because her scowl got more pronounced. "I can't believe anyone would be this stupid!" She exclaimed at no one in particular while walking towards one of my guards.

I wheezed from behind my mask to laugh. "Haha, you're out of luck."

Blue walked forward to reach down, and pick me up by ropes on my hands. "Oh yeah? Why is that? We got you tied up, and you're already surrounded."

I grimaced as him pulling me up aggravated my broken ribs, and circulated my waning chakra to combat the blackness approaching my vision. "Two reasons." I coughed at him. He scowled in disgust at me before dropping me on the ground again. "One, I'm not alone." I laughed as he turned to see Nami smacking a fish-man over the temple, and I slid a knife out of my sleeve. "And two, I literally have _hundreds_ of blades hidden on my body" I grinned as the ropes fell slack around me, and I threw two chakra enhanced blades at blue's head.

He tried to dodge, but one still ended up slicing the side of his neck, and he glared at me in outright horror, and anger. "What did you do…" He asked weakly of me. It took him a second or two after he saw his blood to grow angry, and ran full tilt at me. "I'll take you with me!" He yelled at me as he bled out.

I grimaced in pain, and rolled to the side as he barreled past, and threw more knives to add to his cuts. I saw the bloody trail he left in his wake, and had to hastily doge yellow hammer. Luckily, I saw a rubbery fist fly through the air. "GUM GUM PISTOL!" I heard Luffy yell as yellow's eyes roll back, and fall to the ground.

I didn't have much time to think about it though because blue had caught up to me, and I had to act. I ignored the broken ribs, the blood in my mouth, the various cuts and bruises, and poured my chakra into my fist as I rotated and compressed it. I leaned forward on wobbly legs to launch the attack straight at the oncoming blue's, and yelled. "Chakra Drill!" I watched with rapt attention as we both flew back, and blue's first shred into scale and muscle from the attacks effects. I felt the air rush out of my lungs as I landed on the ground, and saw Nami run over to catch me. I felt her place me on the ground to look over while there was incoherent talking in the background.

I think I would have passed out if Nami hadn't slapped my face. I bolted upright to yell at her, and winced in pain at my ribs. "What the-OW!" I yelled.

I looked around to see everyone with relieved looks on their faces. Nami then proceeded to slap me again. "Stupidest thing ever!" She yelled at me before smiling slightly. "I'm glad you're not dead."

I blinked in surprise before scowling. "Well, that was a lukewarm reception." I muttered at her.

Luffy laughed foolishly at that, and Nami smiled a little too. I didn't see anyone else around, and grabbed Luffy's arm. "You need to go fight Arlong! He's tough."

Luffy's smile faded a little. I saw him duck his head to hide his eyes behind his hat. "Did he do this to you, Zach?"

I flinched at his tone, and avoided eye contact. "No, he had his crew to teach me a lesson." I said quietly.

Luffy's jaw clenched before he put his hat on my head. "Hold this."

I blinked in surprise. "But… I need to fight." I protested weakly.

Luffy shook his head. "Not anymore. We'll handle the rest." He turned to Nami. "Can you take care of him?"

She looked conflicted. I saw her desire to fight war with concern over my well being. I felt touched. Eventually, she nodded. "Just kick his ass, Luffy." She said with clear tears going down to her clenched jaw.

Luffy nodded somberly, and latched onto a tree to launch himself at where he heard a fight in the distance. I heard him yell as he flew over there. "ARLONG! COME AND FIGHT ME!"

I numbly turned to see blue lying in a pool of blood without any signs of life, and felt a pit form in my stomach. I slumped back in exhaustion as every bruise twinged in pain. "I messed up, didn't I?"

Nami shook herself out of a daze to glare at me. She promptly took her fist, and slammed it into my head. "You think?" She growled at me.

I groaned at her as I rubbed my head. "You know, you could be a little more considerate. The only part of me that doesn't hurt is my face, and that's because of the mask…" I trailed off as I realized I wasn't wearing it anymore. "Where'd it go?" I looked around only to see it in Nami's hands.

She was looking over it curiously. "Why did you wear it?"

I shrugged painfully. "Felt right." I hummed in thought. "I… might have some new information about my powers to share later."

She jerked her gaze away from the mask to look at me in surprise. "Really? That's interesting."

I nodded sorely at her. "Yeah… but for now, we need to get to that fight. You know, In case they need us." I pointed towards the sounds of war, and politely slipped the mask out of her hand. "Might as well keep up the pretense." I grunted as I slipped it on.

Nami stood up to dust off her clothes, and then haul me up. I groaned at the movement, and she glared at me. "Oh, Shh. Quit being a baby."

I bit my tongue, and turned to lean on Nami. I gritted out some words between my grimaced lips. "I've been using chakra to keep going, but if I keep it up I won't be able to help in a fight." I patted her arm thankfully. "So, thanks for being my crutch, Nami"

She looked over at me with some worry in her eyes, but kept quiet as we headed towards what sounded to be an epic fight. We made our way to the battle ground unobstructed, and managed to see Zoro standing over a defeated Hachi while Sanji was putting his finishing touches on Kuroobi. I looked around for Usopp and Chew, but couldn't find them in the newly cleared battlefield. I quickly scanned the area with my vision to find that not only was the battleground the area Arlong's crew had torn up to find me, but it was also conspicuously void of Usopp and Chew. I glanced at Nami to get her attention as I whispered. "They shouldn't see us unless we head into the clearing." I saw her nod. "Also, I can't find Usopp. My vision can go for a little more than 2 miles in a single direction now, and I still can't find him…"

Nami stiffened a little at my words. "Is he okay?"

I shrugged fretfully at her question. "He is a lot stronger than before… I know he can outrun Chew at the very least, and he was starting to get the basics of Iron Body before we left Syrup Village."

Nami helped me to lean against a tree so she didn't have to hold me up. "What's Iron Body?"

I swore under my breath, and Nami flinched at my outburst. "Something I should have told you all about!" I yelled at myself in a whisper. I saw her confused look, and reined in my temper. "There are six powers that the Marines use to train their bodies to become weapons. I was taught how to train in one power, and I helped Usopp with it." I saw her paying attention to my words, and continued. "The one we train is called Iron Body. It is a defensive technique used to reduce damage to the body." I saw her skepticism. "If I was good at it, then even Arlong wouldn't be able to touch me."

She widened her eyes in surprise, and nodded absently before looking out to the fight. "What should we do?"

I grunted as I slumped to the ground. "We can only watch now. Luffy gets to fight arlong, and we hope Usopp is fine. Zoro and Sanji are finished…"

We both turned our gaze towards the two undamaged fighters staring each other down in the clearing. Zoro had tossed Hachi out of the way, and Sanji was kind enough to kick Kuroobi _very_ far away. Together, they made their way towards our location. I nodded at them as they stood vigil in the fight about to go down.

-Luffy's P.O.V.-

That guy was just standing there looking me over, and every little thing he did seemed to piss me off. I could vaguely see Sanji and Zoro finish off their opponents, and I let a smirk come onto my face as I cracked my knuckles. "Now, it's time for me to kick your ass."

Arlong glowered right back me, and I saw him flex his muscles as he took a step forward. I decided to skip that nonsense, and stretched my fist right into his face. "GUM GUM PISTOL!" I shouted after impact.

I ran after him as I saw him slide backwards from the hit, and felt the recoil from the hit launch my fist backwards. I slid forward to whip a leg under him. "Gum Gum Whip!" I yelled as he jumped over it, and land in front of me. I barely had time to dodge when he slammed down on me with his arms. We quickly fell into a flurry of fists and kicks. I managed to take them through my rubber body, and he took them through his muscles. I scowled at him, and kept the assault up until he bit down onto my arm. I yanked it back, and was shocked to find it still stuck onto my arm. "You lost your teeth!" I couldn't help but blurt out.

I watched in fascination as he smiled at me, and new teeth grew in. "Another upside the more evolved species has over you puny humans. I can grow as many as I want, and they just keep getting stronger."

I flinched a little as I yanked the teeth out, and then smiled happily as a thought came to me.

-Zach's P.O.V.-

"Oh, no… I didn't think he would still do this!" I groaned out loud enough that the crew heard me.

Nami asked me curiously. "Do what?"

I pointed sadly. "Look at his teeth!"

Nami blinked in surprise. "Arlong? Yeah, his teeth can grow back. It's an advantage of his shark blood."

I shook my head fiercely. "Not him… Luffy!"

They all turned to look, and Zoro was the one to express what we all saw. "He… He's wearing them like dentures…"

I nodded sadly, and Sanji smothered his cigarette with more than a little angst. "And he's the captain we chose to follow?"

We let that hang in the air for a moment until we were brought out of the moment to here Usopp crashing into the clearing. We all glanced over in surprise to see Chew tied to his belt via a rope that he was running behind him. We all watched in confusion as the unconscious Chew was dragged over to our hiding spot, and an out of breath Usopp started to speak to me. "Zach…" He wheezed. "I can't… unlatch the grappling belt." He finished.

I blinked in surprise before looking at the thoroughly flabbergasted crew. I shrugged helplessly. "Zoro?" I inquired.

He shrugged right back at me, and drew his blade to simply cut the dead weight off, and Usopp turned to look in surprise at the frayed end of his rope. Thankfully he had the decency to look embarrassed, but it didn't last because we got to hear a loud explosion from Luffy bodily slamming Arlong into a rock. We watched in amazement as Arlong then crawled out of the rubble to glare daggers at Luffy.

Luffy's response was to crack his knuckles again. I heard Usopp gasp, and turn to us. "How do we even stop something like that?!"

I grimaced. "Well, we could drop a building like Arlong Park on him, but that's at least a mile that way." I spoke with concern clear in my voice.

Nami was biting her lip so bad I saw it start to bleed. Finally, she started to pick up her staff to walk out. Everyone else hurriedly stood to block her. She glared at all of us in frustration. "What are you doing?!" She yelled in annoyance. "We need to help him!"

Zoro took a step forward to look her in the eye, and shake his head. "Before we started, Luffy ordered us to leave him Arlong to fight." He smirked a little as he saw Luffy swing Arlong around by the nose, and slam him into the ground. "They're Captain's orders." He told her succinctly, and then we all nodded along.

Nami was the exclusion as she looked out to see Arlong move his teeth into his hands, and start cutting Luffy up. "But… we could help him!" She persisted.

I wheezed as I stood up, and she turned to look at the noise. I glared at her. "Nami, this is his fight. If you want to interfere, then I'll be the first to stand in your way."

I saw her eyes widen in surprise, and she started to walk forward. I grimaced as I flared my chakra, and endured to sprint in front of her. She looked at me with her patented frosty witch look. "Move, Zach." She ordered.

I glared right back with my jaw clenched. "I can't do that, Nami."

She kept staring me down for a couple of seconds, and I heard Usopp step beside me. Then, I heard Sanji and Zoro stand there as well. She looked at all of us in turn. "Why…?" She finally asked us weekly.

I smirked a little as I relaxed my posture. "It's because we have faith in Luffy. In our captain." I saw a chorus of nods from the others, and Nami even started to look a little easier with it.

While they turned back to watch the fight, I stopped the chakra numbing the pain, and slumped to the ground again. I felt the hat on my head slide down some, and I reached up to adjust it. " _I know he can win."_ I prayed silently as I watched the fight enter it's last stages.

Luffy and Arlong were in the midst of their blows, and neither one was unblemished from the fight. Luffy was bloodied all over, but still ready to fight. Arlong looked to be bruised and battered, but was coming around as his eyes turned to that of a more Sea King-like appearance. I gasped in surprise, and smacked myself for forgetting this part. "He's going berserk! His speed and power will increase, and he'll ignore his injuries…"

Everyone visibly stiffened at my words, and recoiled in shock as Arlong leapt across the clearing to ram his nose into Luffy's chest. "Shark on Darts!" He yelled loudly.

Nami was gripping her staff so hard that I could hear it start to warp. Zoro was watching stoically beside Sanji, and Usopp was frozen as he saw Luffy's blood fly up. I tried to stand up, but found my chakra had mostly run out, and staggered back to the ground. I had been unconsciously burning it with all the adrenaline running through my system. "Dammit…" I muttered to myself.

We had all just barely begun to process the impaling of our captain, when Luffy yelled at the top of his lungs. "This is for hurting my Nakama!" Luffy pulled Arlong into an embrace as he wrapped a leg around a tree, and started to run in circles while holding a struggling Arlong in a death grip. "Gum Gum…" Luffy yelled out again as he completed another couple rotations. Finally he stopped running to rip Arlong out of his shoulder, and hold by the nose as he hopped up off of the ground, and was flung around and around the tree at insane speed. "Dervish!" Luffy blasted out with Arlong slamming bodily into everything around him in the wild spinning they were doing.

We all watched in amazement as Luffy ended it all with an overhead slam into the ground that left Arlong out cold, with a thoroughly mangled nose, just lying in a crater. Luffy was huffing and puffing as he stood over Arlong, and I barely saw him turn to smile a goofy smile over at us before my vision thoroughly faded, and I finally fell into blissful unconsciousness.

-Some Time Later-

I found myself tightly bandaged once again. I felt them over my eyes, my chest, my arms, and my legs. I honestly don't think I could move if I tried. Of course, that didn't stop me from trying. "Sunnuva!" I blurted out as I ended up rolling out of a hammock, and onto the ground. I flicked my vision on, and saw that I was actually on the Merry, and, as I went farther out, I also saw that we were not docked on Conomi Island.

Thankfully, my nakama came around to help my confusion. It was Usopp who came in first, and I took the chance to question him from where I was sprawled on the ground. "Where are we? How long was I out? Is everyone okay?"

Usopp hurried over to help me stand up, and then began to walk me outside. "We left Nami's town a couple of days ago, 5 days, and the only one worse than you was Zoro." He frowned a little. "Luffy should have been worse than you too, but we gave him some meat and he just got better somehow." He explained with more than a little amazement in his voice.

We limped out onto the deck together, and I was soon greeted by Luffy pulling me into a bear hug. "Whoa! Zach, you're okay? That's great!" He yelled in my ear as I tried to claw my way out of his grip. I finally made it out as everyone else made their appearances on the deck.

I scowled at Luffy in annoyance about his hug while trying to undo some of my bandages. Nami walked up from out of nowhere to slap my hands away. "Leave them alone! The doctor said to rest, and keep fresh bandages on."

I pouted at her. "But Nami~" I whined. "They're already healed!"

She scoffed. "Yeah right! It's not like you're like Luffy and Zoro." She promptly froze in amazement as I smacked the side of my chest, and didn't even flinch. She watched in awe as she did the same, and I only scowled at her hitting me. "But how?" She voiced out in amazement.

Sanji chose that moment to swoop in with no small amount of flair. "It's obviously because of the superior cooking I have been doing, my beautiful Nami!" He cried out in his normal fawning tone.

I scoffed a little too. "Sure. Let's go with what Teacher Sanji said."

Sanji flinched at the title, and seemed to recall some past misjustice from the look on his face. I blanched in fear and astonishment as turned slowly to look at me. "So, you're really healed?" I nodded uncertainly as I took off my mummy costume. "GOOD. Now, I need to kick your ass, _wingman."_

I flinched at his tone, and quickly tried to run, as I found the situation to be heading in an unpleasant direction, only to find Sanji kicking my foot out from under me. I ended up landing in a heap by the sleeping Zoro. "Help!" I cried out at my trusty first mate, but Zoro's only response was to continue snoring as he rolled over.

I barely had time to take in the blatant betrayal before I was kicked firmly in the rear strong enough to send me flying into the railing. I landed in yet another heap, and rolled over to see Sanji smirking proudly down at me. I pouted up at the lot of them. "I just woke up! Can't you be a little nicer?"

Luffy had a foolish grin on his face as he spoke at me like _I_ was the idiot. "No? We're treating you like normal, Zach!"

"That's what worries me…" I grumbled at them before a smile stretched over my face, and Nami helped me stand. "So" I looked at Nami expectantly. "Anyone want to fill me in on what happened after I passed out?"

Nami let a smile cover her face as we walked to the kitchen with the crew. She made sure I was okay before sitting me down at the table, and sitting beside me. I saw Sanji whipping up lunch while everyone else started to tell me what happened. Usopp started it all off. "Well, after you took a nap." He started succinctly.

I cut in a little angrily. "I was unconscious."

He nodded absently. "Yeah, whatever. You were snoring." I felt a blush on my face. "We got Luffy out of there, and some Marines came by to try to arrest us with Arlong."

Nami spoke up proudly. "Yeah, but the villagers had heard the fighting, and came by to rescue us. I think they mainly came for me, but I got them to save you all as well."

I nodded interestedly. "So, by 'save' do you mean beat the Marines bloody, and walk away?" I saw her blush, and nodded to myself. "Then that means…" I jerked up to look at Luffy with a huge grin. "What was your bounty?!" I asked excitedly.

Luffy blinked in surprise before pulling something out from his pockets. "30 million Beri!" He exclaimed happily as he showed me. I saw Nami scowling at the antics, and I smirked a little.

I slapped him cheerfully on the back. "That's great! You're famous!" I exclaimed at him with a grin.

Nami had finally had it, and reached over to ram a fist into each of our skulls. "Not good! You're _in_ famous!" She yelled at us.

I hastily scooted away to stick my tongue out at her, and Luffy did the same. "You're just jealous!" Luffy yelled.

I however was caught up in the fact that I could see a certain mask in the background of his bounty. "Oh! Guys! My Neko mask is in the picture! I'm famous too!" I looked around for it, but couldn't see it anywhere visible on the ship. I looked at them with more than a little disappointment. "Did you guys lose it?"

Usopp smiled proudly at my dissapointment. "Nope! I just made some improvements on it."

I looked at him more than a little warily. "Like what...:?"

He ignored my tone, and plowed right on. "I managed to reinforce it with Sea Prism stone!"

I blinked in surprise before I felt a tear slide down my cheek. I got over it quickly though because I had the perfect punching bag if I didn't like his answers. "Usopp… I can't touch that stuff… How can I wear it as a mask?" I asked him calmly. "Also, how is that even an improvement?"

He paused his self congratulations to cock his head in thought. "Huh… Didn't think about that." He shrugged it off. "Oh, well."

I lunged across the table, and was barely caught by Nami holding me back. "Easy, Zach! We can fix it!"

I glared over at Usopp. "He better!" I yelled at the thoroughly frightened sniper. "I can't even see through that stuff! It's useless in a mask!" I yelled at him as I settled back down.

I heard some impolite grumblings about my manners, and shot him a glare that shut him up. I looked at Nami with more questions. "So… Villagers saved us. Arlong is on his way to Impel Down. Luffy has a bounty. Anything else?" I asked curiously as I ticked them off on my fingers.

Nami shrugged in reply. "Nah, we had a Marine ship try to take Luffy in, and he handled them easy… That's about it." She glanced out the window to the clear sky. "We should make landfall at Logue Town in another day or so." She finished.

I looked over to see Luffy chuckling happily about something. I raised an eyebrow in query, and he pointed a finger gloatingly at me. "You missed another party!" He blurted out like it was the best punchline in the world, and fell into a fit of giggles.

I felt a wry grin on my face, and saw everyone else looking elsewhere a little guiltily. I coughed into my fist. "So… I was knocked out for _five_ days… and you threw a party?" I asked with more than a little bitter laughter in my voice.

Sanji was conspicuously humming while he cooked, and Zoro had fallen asleep. Luffy was still giggling. Nami had even managed to move several seats away without me noticing. So, I locked onto Usopp. "So...Buddy! Pal. Old friend!" I leaned forward. "Wanna tell me why no one wakes me up for the good stuff, but I always get to be the _first_ in line to take a beating?!" I smiled a little too cheerfully at him.

Usopp's gulped wasn't actually that loud, but the room had gotten quiet when everyone turned to look at me in shock. I blinked in confusion at the turn of event, and leaned back. "What's wrong?" I asked them all in confusion.

Zoro had even managed to wake up to quirk an eyebrow at me. "You're sparking." He told me bluntly.

I looked down at my hands to see a minute flash coming up every now and then, and firmly cut off my chakra flow. I nodded as the sparks disappeared. "Oh, yeah. I can do that now." I replied with just as much bluntness.

Nami, having had enough bluntness for the day, fairly screeched in my ears. "WHY ARE YOU SPARKING?!"

I flinched as Usopp chimed in. "HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT?"

I glared over at Luffy, who was about to yell, and stuffed one of the napkin bundles into his mouth. "Enough yelling!" I sweatdropped as I saw Luffy swallow the linen, and shook my head to rid myself of the memory. "I was going to bring it up. I already told Nami, anyway."

I got to then enjoy the sight of everyone glaring at a thoroughly flustered Nami. "N-No he didn't! I would remember this!" She defended hastily.

I smirked as she got all flustered at the looks she was getting, and let a chuckle escape. I then got to enjoy them all turning to me in realization, and Nami's glare. "Okay, so I didn't tell her the details, but I did say I found out some more about my powers!" I leaned forward in excitement as everyone looked on with interest. "Okay, Arlong captured me, and saw my brand." I pulled up my sleeve to show them. "He seemed to connect this mark with a group called The Clergy." I looked over everyone, and saw confusion on everyone's face except Sanji's. He had a look of pure shock that he soon trained into indifference. I noted it, and voiced my opinion. "So, it looks like Sanji is the only one who knows about them." I saw him stiffen, and look away as he kept cooking. "We'll get back to that… Anyway, he called me a vessel." A strong flinch from Sanji. "And he seemed to not want to kill me." I scratched my chin in thought. "It was also around then that my mark started acting up, and I felt like I had electricity running through me." I pinned sanji down with a questioning stare, and everyone else followed my gaze. "I don't care how you know any of this, and I won't tell your secrets, Sanji." Everyone had interested expressions again. They seemed to notice I had spoken in a similar tone back when Nami made a confession. "But, I think this is something we should talk about."

He stopped what he was doing, and turned the oven off as he took the seat furthest from me. He smothered his cigarette on the table, and looked at us all seriously. Finally, his gaze landed on me. "I don't want to tell that secret yet… And I didn't believe this whole god thing before, but now?" He pinned me with a glare. "I do believe we will need to have a talk later at the very least." He scratched his soul patch idly while he collected his thoughts.

"If everything you've said is true, then you'd do best to hide that mark." He started seriously. "I don't know much about The Clergy, but the stories I've been told put them on a level you don't usually see outside of the true heavyweights. The only reason they aren't a household name is because they don't hold land, wealth, or even have that many people. The only thing they have is power. They've been something of an enigma in the New World… I only hear two kinds of stories about them." He let that hang in the air as he collected his thoughts. "The first is them fighting for some just cause. The second is them killing en masse."

I digested his words as silence reigned. "So… we should probably get me a really good piece of cloth to hide it behind… huh?"

I got a flat stare from the rest, but Luffy seemed to brimming over with excitement. He pulled me into a sidelong hug as he exclaimed in glee. "Awesome! Look how cool my Nakama is! He has mystery sparks, AND he brought so many strong people for us to fight!" Luffy was positively beaming with excitement at the prospect.

I _saw_ sweatdrops on everyone as we processed this fact, and turned to wallop Luffy as a group. "NOT A GOOD THING!" We yelled in a good 'ole fashioned team bonding exercise. Though Luffy just ended up grinning through the whole thing. You know, because he's made of _freaking rubber._

I through my hands up in frustration. "It's useless to keep hitting him like this! He just smiles back at us!"

Nami patted my shoulder consolingly. "We all know that, but it helps us feel better. Like a giggling stress ball."

Zoro grunted in affirmation. "Yeah, it helps me get to sleep if i'm frustrated."

Usopp poked his nose right in the conversation too. "Yeah, I do it when I get bored."

Sanji's jaw was hanging open as he looked around the room. "So… all of you regularly hit your captain?"

A chorus of nodding was his reply. I, for one, was surprised too, but for a whole other reason. "You mean I could have been doing this more often?! I've been saving it for when I'm mad!" I whined out.

Sanji's response was to walk up to Luffy, and suddenly whip his leg out. He landed it on the back of his head, and Luffy just grinned as it stretched back in place. I heard Sanji snort in amusement. "It is a little fun." He remarked to us.

I felt my face start twitching at the sheer absurdity of this moment, and finally just let out a depressed sigh. "I give up." I groaned at them. "Goodbye sanity, Hello good times!"

Luffy chose that moment to speak up. "Yeah! Zach is right! We need to go have some good times!" He looked around at all of our dumbfounded looks to just smile even bigger. "Let's play tag!" He yelled as he ran outside. "I'm it!"

I watched numbly as he ran outside giggling. "How…Did he just... Does he even know how to play tag?!" I finally managed to ask.

It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop as we contemplated some of our more recent life choices. Finally, Sanji stood up, and turned the stove on to continue cooking. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm just going to pretend we stopped talking after Sparky explained his… well, sparks."

Thankfully, everyone else seemed just as interested in doing the same because we soon changed topics. Usopp had an important question for me. "So, do you know how to control those sparks?" He leaned forward in curiosity.

I held up my left hand, and tried channeling chakra into it, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. "No… It seemed to happen when I had adrenaline flowing, or when I got angry. Kind of like an instinctual response." I scratched my chin in thought. "It might be because I didn't exactly get my chakra the normal way… So, it's possible that my chakra isn't your garden variety, and is actually base Lightning." I felt my heart race at the prospect of not having to spend _years_ in training to finally make a jutsu.

Zoro looked over in interest. "What do you mean by natural, and base? If there are more people like you, then we should know this stuff." He explained quietly.

I grunted in acknowledgment. "Well, the natural way is to be born with active chakra coils. I was given chakra when I got this mark." I gestured at my sleeve. "So, it is safe to assume that anyone with this mark has chakra… as for base, this is just my assumption, but I think my mark might have given me an instinctive predilection towards the Lightning affinity." I saw more confusion, and hastily explained. "Okay, as far as affinities are concerned, there are five. Lightning, Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind." I counted off on my fingers.

I quickly jerked my head up as the blood left my face, and everyone looked me over worriedly. Nami seemed to be the most concerned if you went by her tone as she spoke. "What's the matter, Zach?"

I tried to swallow, but found my mouth to be freakily dry. So, I just coughed a little. "It's just…" I clenched my fists in frustration. "Okay, the way I use chakra is to enhance my physical capabilities, right?" I saw some nods. "Well, that's only a small fraction of what it can do, and if those other people can do even a _quarter_ of some of the stuff I have seen, then we are in serious trouble."

Sanji let a puff of smoke fill the room, and asked me in a somewhat uneasy tone. "Like what?"

I threw my arms up in frustration again. "Everything! Anything. Chakra can be used to make illusions, possess someone, grow a forest in the span of minutes, raise mountains, flood valleys, reanimate the _dead_. Heck, I don't even know what all it is capable of, but if someone could bring out it's full potential here, then…" I bit my lip. "Most of you don't know about the real powerhouses yet. So, I can't really make a good comparison… Just trust me when I say that chakra can be scary powerful stuff in the right hands."

Zoro looked me over skeptically in the silence that followed. Finally he asked what everyone was thinking in his own blunt way. "Then, why are you so weak?"

I felt my face heat up at the looks on everyone's faces. It looked like each and every one of them agreed with his sentiment, and I grimaced at it. "I don't know _how._ I didn't learn from a scary group, get a teacher, or even a manual. That damned RHD just took me from my home, and dropped me in the South Blue!" I blurted out at the lot of them.

Luffy had somehow managed to get back in the room because he walked over to me with a questioning gaze. "You never told us about that part, Zach. We just thought you were from Syrup, like Usopp." He pointed out for everyone.

I jerked my head back as I saw similar expressions on everyone's faces. They looked like they were ready for an interrogation. Even Usopp looked like he wanted answers. "Yeah, the whole time in Syrup, you never said anything about this 'RHD' stealing you from your home." He accused me quietly.

I blinked in confusion before making an apologetic face at them all. "Oh! Sorry." I said shyly to them all. I saw that that wasn't enough from his flat stare, and coughed into my fist awkwardly as Sanji put the food down on the table. "Okay… I guess I can tell _another_ story, but, after this, someone else has to take over. I'll run out of good ones before too long." I demanded of them in return.

I saw Luffy bite his lip in thought while everyone else sweatdropped at his deliberations. Finally, he stuck his hand out for me to shake. "Deal! I have a good story about Grandpa losing me in the jungle!" He beamed at me.

It was my turn to sweatdrop at Luffy as we shook, and then we started to eat. I used that time to recount my deal with a bum, my abrupt landing on a beach (I left out the other world thing, but kept the deity part), I told them about Tyler (w/o the part of him being a Marine), and I finished with him giving me a rowboat in East Blue.

It was Zoro who spoke up first. He let out a low whistle. "So, you're either crazy, or just really unlucky…"

I shrugged in reply, and stuffed the last of my bread in my mouth to chew. Nami spoke up in question next. "So, you can't go home without finding the bum's family, and that necklace is your only clue?"

I nodded along to her questions while Usopp joined in. "And you dragged us into it because you magically knew about us?"

More nods. Sanji got his turn now. "And, you sailed through the Calm Belt, and the Grand Line?" He finished incredulously.

Even _more_ nods from me. There was a serious moment as we looked over to Luffy. He was looking at me with _that_ look. The one he gets every time he talks about his dream. He spoke up in a tone that only a D. could use. "Just remember, you're Nakama now. We're going to help you." Then, Luffy ended it all with a foolish grin, and leaned in to start talking. "Anyway! My story is even better!" We all looked over in disbelief, and he puffed his chest out proudly. "Yeah! Grandpa lost me in a jungle! And I found my way out! All by myself!" He finished with gusto.

There was a full minute of silence while Luffy looked around expectantly. Next thing we knew, Luffy was squirming on the floor as Nami and Usopp were fighting over who got to strangle him. "What is your problem!?" They yelled.

I turned a blind eye to their antics as I coughed lightly into my fist. "I don't accept that story. So, no more form me until you guys get one better than mine!" I grinned happily at the angry looks that got me, and waltzed out of the kitchen. I shut the door casually before ninja leaping up to the crow's nest with haste. I looked around to see if anyone was coming up after me, and sighed in relief when they didn't.

I dropped down to hug my knees, and tried to think everything over in my head. " _Did I do the right thing? Should I have told them all about Ozaron, and that clergy group? I could be dragging them into some bad stuff. I mean, what if they die because they knew me…"_

I shuddered at the thought. " _Arlong called me a vessel, and made it seem like I was important to the Clergy from the way he made sure not to kill me… They're probably going to come after me at some point. Should I really bring them into this?"_ I turned my vision towards the horizon, and could see the vague outline of an island appear as if in answer to my musings. I sighed deeply in indecision. "Logue Town. The beginning and the End. Not exactly an auspicious omen." I whispered sadly.

I shook my head fiercely at my moment of weakness as the crew came out to tend the sails. I felt the indecision leave me as Luffy hopped onto the goat head, and grin towards the horizon. "Although… The Pirate King did start his journey there. It makes sense that the next Pirate King does as well… and that's a pretty damn good omen too." I clenched my fists as I stood up. "This is just getting started." I vowed. "I'm going to finish this trial, and I'll do it as a Straw Hat." I looked at my oddly charismatic leader. "I'll be damned if some chakra junkies are going to try to stop us." I felt the electricity in me stir to life with my proclamation.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N- So, I am pumped about getting over a thousand views! It makes me feel so successful!

Also, not gonna lie. This chapter was abnormally hard for me to write. I think I wrote and rewrote almost every part two or three times by the time I felt it was good enough. I kept wanting to give Ozaron some face time, but it always felt forced. That's when I read some other fanfics, and came up with the perfect solution. I save it for later! You're going to _hate_ that I did it, but it happened. xD

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, Naruto, nor any of their characters. I do own the OC's I write about.

 _ **An informant, A Whale, and A Princess**_

-x-

The voyage into Logue Town was pretty uneventful. Well, at least as uneventful as a trip with Luffy can be. We only had to fish him out of the water one time when he thought he saw a cloud that looked like meat. He _definitely_ didn't fall in when he tried stretch up, and grab it. Definitely not that.

Okay… maybe he fell overboard more than once… but, to be fair, the second time wasn't _entirely_ his fault.

"Oh, god… why did we listen to him?" Nami whined at me as Luffy was both drowning and drooling off the side of the ship.

I deadpanned at her. "I know why _I_ did, but I think he just outsmarted all of you." I quipped at her.

I felt a firm foot planted on my rear that pushed me over the railing, and onto the soggy Luffy. I tried to untangle myself from the rubbery captain, and heard Nami yelling down at me. "Outsmarted us?! Yeah, right!" She scoffed derisively as she walked away in a fit.

I snorted as Luffy looked up in confusion. "What's wrong with her, Zach?"

I giggled inwardly as I shook my head sadly, outwardly. "I think she was upset you didn't catch the flying meat."

Luffy made the most amazing face of guilt as he seemed to realize his mistake. He turned over to yell at where Nami was still stomping around. "NAMI! I'm sorry! I'll get it this time!" He patted his hat down, and then stretched himself into the sky again.

I rolled on the ground laughing as Nami ran out. "What did he just do?!" She screamed in a twisted mix of grief and frustration.

I coughed out a reply between fits of laughter. "He's saw how mad you were about the sky meat, and went to try again, Nami!"

She looked at me completely gobsmacked before turning back to see Sanji fishing Luffy out again. "What?" Was her sole query, and I couldn't help it anymore. I started laughing anew when Luffy started shouting how he _almost_ had the sky meat.

-x-

Logue Town was almost exactly as it had been over a year ago. It was crowded with sailors, civilians, and Marines everywhere going about business. The only difference I could see was the remarkable lack of fighting, stealing, or just general mayhem. I let out a low whistle once the Merry pulled within my range. "Smoker has been busy…"

I was too drawn into inspecting the island to notice that Sanji had walked over to me. "Who's Smoker?" He started quietly in a conversational tone.

I blinked in surprise as I drew my vision back to the Merry. I found that Sanji was not even two feet from me, and I also happened to see how, although he appeared calm, his heart was racing. I silently flicked my vision off to look towards him the non-invasive way.

I was busy mentally kicking myself over spatial awareness while I thought about how to answer. I settled with the truth. I tried to hide the surprise in my voice as I did so. "Oh, he's a Marine Captain. He ate a logia type Devil Fruit. I think it's called the Smoke Smoke fruit, maybe?" I shrugged awkwardly. "Ever since he became stationed here, he's been cleaning up any and all criminals that come through the island. Especially pirates."

Sanji inhaled deeply as he thought about that, and sighed as he looked over to Luffy. "I'm guessing you think he'll catch Luffy?"

I smirked a little at him. "I could tell you, but then Luffy would get mad." I saw him give me a quick glare as his foot started to twitch. So, I threw my hands up in defeat. "Fine, he won't be in any trouble. He has family watching his back." I smiled a little to myself. Then, I gave our cook a quick glance. "But that probably isn't why you're here?"

He tensed up a little, but ended up just sighing out a breathful of smoke. "Yeah… We need to talk about my… past."

I quickly cast my vision around us, and saw that 3 of our 4 nakama were within earshot. "If we talked here, then I'm pretty sure everyone, except Zoro, would find out." I saw his raised eyebrows, and waved it off dismissively. "I can see through walls, Sanji. Kinda helps me pick up on who is close enough to eavesdrop."

He smothered his cigarette out on the ship's railing, and I winced at the poor little ship. "Okay, be vague. Just tell me how much do you know?" He shot me a look that bespoke nothing but menace if I thought of doing otherwise.

I flinched a little at his commanding tone, and glared at him for it. I saw his features take on a slightly lighter expression, but he didn't ease up enough to stop his feet from twitching. I sighed in defeat, and decided it was good enough. "I know you're the third of quadruplets. I know about your…" I dipped into silence about how to phrase it without giving away anything. "siblings 'enhancements'." I saw him look at me with wariness as I continued. "I know how your dad cut ties, and what led up to that… Sanji, I can keep telling you what I know, but the more I say, the less you're going to like me bringing it up… Can we just skip the hard part?" I asked him with no small amount of pity in my tone.

I stepped back a little as the floorboards beneath him started to crack. I saw him sadly reach up to his face before looking at me in what I could only equate to emotional exhaustion. I waited in silence as he slowly came back from from whatever he was reliving. Finally, he looked at me with pain still clear in his eyes. "Okay… I believe you. No one should know those things. I don't think anyone outside of my immediate family even knows about… well, you know." He shakily lit up another cigarette as he looked out to sea.

I frowned in thought as Sanji seemed to be slipping into his past. "You know, I won't tell anyone. Right, Sanji?" I looked out to sea just like he was, and waited for him to reply.

He finished his cigarette in silence before flinging the butt into the water. "Yeah, I know." He looked me over critically. "You're a decent guy." He wrinkled his nose like he smelled something sour. "You might be a religious nut, but you're a decent guy."

I looked at him in disbelief. "Really? You won't accept the whole god thing? Even after that bombshell? I mean that is some fairly high level information!" I spoke exasperatedly.

He just shrugged as he walked away in a much better mood. "Make sure it stays that way, Sparky." He called over his shoulder.

I slumped against the railing in defeat. "Honestly, it's only disbelief from these guys. Where's my 'Wow, that's so cool!' moment?" I grumbled to the ocean.

I probably would have continued grumbling about the disbelievers, but Nami chose that moment to make me do some work. "Zach! Haul in the sails!" I heard her banshee call down at me from her perch.

I sagged in defeat. "Yeah, I have a face-to-face with a deity, and you just put me to manual labor…" I sent a glare towards the redheaded witch as I whispered something I knew she would positively _hate_. "I need a union." I then proceeded to do the manly thing, and jumped in fright as I felt chills down my spine. I looked around fearfully for the source of the sheer unbridled _killing intent_ I was feeling directed at me, and was stupefied to see Nami staring at me from the helm. I hastily slipped a grin on as I cheerfully hollered up to Nami. "Union? Who needs that jazz?! I'm on it, Nami!" I jumped to work in false cheer while hauling Usopp up the mast with me. I hastily hissed at his confused look. "Don't ask! Just work!"

If I had been looking, then I would have been more than a little terrified to see Nami smirking evilly at the crew while we worked. "I'll be damned if these wimps start using foul language like _that_ around here!" She huffed haughtily to herself as we pulled into Logue Town.

-x-

I suppose I should have been more excited for the shore leave we were getting, but thinking about the Alabasta Arc kind of made me more focused on supplies for the future.I decided then and there to just ignore the filler madness that was about to go down, and just go shopping. Of course, that meant I needed to make a list. I frowned in thought while running over a few of the supplies I needed. " _Spruce wood, Silk, Copper, Oil, Metalworking tools, caltrops, wax paper, combustibles, scuba gear,_ As many _Log Poses as possible, and any Eternal Poses I can find._ " I was roughly shaken out of my inner thoughts by Nami smacking my arm in annoyance.

I shook myself awake as she looked at me in disappointment. "Well?" She asked in exasperation.

I blinked in surprise, and tried to think of what she wanted. I couldn't think of anything, and just shrugged it off. "Hey, I need my 20%. I have a lot of stuff to buy."

Her reply to me was to shoot a venomous glare at me. "Are you serious?!"

I reeled back in surprise, and looked at the guys for help. "What's her problem?" I stage-whispered over to my good pal Usopp.

He was likewise backing away from Nami. "She asked you to go shopping with her!" He hissed back at me in fear.

I blinked in surprise before scowling at her. "NO! I know you! You'll just make me carry the bags." I stated simply and directly. I think I actually felt waves of anger coming off of her, and did my best to just bear it as we glared. suddenly, she seemed to have a change of heart because it all just stopped. I looked her over in bafflement, and found her face had become a mask of calm. "So, does this mean I get my money?" I asked cautiously

All of the previously forgotten anger came back in a flash. "YOU JERK!" She turned on her heel, and started to stomp off.

I saw her walked away into the crowd, and disappear by herself. I felt bad for all of about five seconds before I realized she had gotten out of paying me. "Hold on, you greedy witch!" I yelled after her, and ninja jumped into the crowd leaving behind a thoroughly befuddled Usopp. It was only Usopp because Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy had long since slipped away from an irate Nami.

I chased after her through the crowds, and eventually made it out of sight of the Merry. It wasn't hard to find Nami because… well I have some pretty dang good eyes. She was currently running very fast into a department store. I cursed under my breath that she was _already_ shopping, and ducked inside after her. I was able to find her right away, but she had also managed to slip into a dressing room. Which left me in a very awkward predicament. "Uhh… Nami? Can you give me my money? We don't have all day." I asked politely from outside. I may be able to see through walls, but there are some walls that you just don't go through.

I heard her jump in surprise inside the the little room, and poke her head out. "Oh, yeah. You can see pretty far, huh?"

I deadpanned at her. "I can see for almost two miles, and you were gone for like 10 seconds. So, yeah. I found you."

She blushed a little, and stuck her head back in the room. "Well, I don't have your money."

I felt a growl slipping out of my throat. "What do you mean by that?"

She was still hiding when she spoke guiltily. "I kinda gave away your share…"

I reeled back in outright surprise at her words. "What?!"

She stuck a certain finger out to greet me. "Don't act so surprised! I can be a nice person." She seemed to pause in thought. "Okay, maybe not. But! It was for a good cause. I gave it to my village." She explained carefully.

I facepalmed at the obvious answer before smirking happily as a thought came to me. "Well, can't be helped. I guess I'll just have to consider it a loan... say 300% interest?"

You could have heard a pin drop in the silence that ensued. Finally, Nami spoke to me in a tone so sweet I think I was getting a tooth ache. "I think we can come to a better agreement than that, Zachy~" She started to slip out of the room in a fancy bare back red dress.

I looked her over for all of half a second before throwing a knife by her foot, and watching her jump in shock. "We had a _deal_ , Nami! No more flirty crap." I spat out. She _finally_ had the decency to look embarrassed, and started to fidget. "So, 300% interest." I ignored her pained expression. "And! Since you took every cent I had the night we met," Ah, now she looked downright ashamed. It felt good to get one up on her. "you're giving me money for supplies."

I kind of felt bad at the downright betrayed look she gave me as we tallied up my loan, and the pained expression when she gave me 1 million Beri in _pocket change._ However, it did feel _good_ to have money. "Honestly, why do you need that much?" She finished in tears.

I whistled happily as I stored it away. "Eh, just some stuff." I felt my shoulder ease up a little as I left a teary eyed Nami at the dress shop. " _I should do this more often. It's better than a stress ball._ " I thought idly.

-x-

After revelling in that little adventure, I set my attention to the basic supplies I would need to continue with my tinkering. I quickly found the materials needed thanks to my vision, and the knives were even easier. Turns out that pirate towns tend to be loaded with weapons.

Eventually, I had to resign myself to the fact that a million Beri won't buy me everything I want. I decided to milk this loan for way more later, and happily lugged everything back to the Merry. That done, I sat down on the railing to look over the town. I sighed to myself. "Well… I couldn't find Log Poses, and it looks like the Marines are the only ones with Sea Prism stone." I grimaced a little at the security I saw on their base. "Smoker really does his job right." I shuddered a little at the thought of competent Marines.

So, I settled for spending my day walking around like a normal person. It was nice. I got to see Logue Town from a civilian's eyes. It looked impressive, and moderately safe. There were Marines patrolling the busy parts of town, and the slum had adequate amounts of the other end of that equation. I had walked around the majority of the town, when I noticed that the hotel I tried to stay in last time had been torn down. It was a little depressing that they actually tore down the Pirate King's house.

I continued my leisure time in the good part of town, and found something I had missed dearly. "Oh, finally! Something goes right in the world." I cheered as the vendor gave me a plain old vanilla ice cream cone. "Nothing beats the classics." I sighed in content at the nostalgia it brought me. This simple ice cream cone brought me memories of home. We used to get ice cream after every little league baseball game. My dad was the coach, and he let me bring the whole team out to the local drive in. I remember never being sure what to get, and my brother would choose for me. He always got vanilla. No matter what happened, he only got that flavor. So, in this way, I got a moment of peace in this crazy adventure.

I wound up sitting at one of the benches nearby to watch the crowds of people go by, and reminisce. Eventually, I had to wake up though. I chose to wake up when an elderly couple started looking for seats. I smiled awkwardly at them, and got out of their way. "Sorry, you can have my spot."

The old woman smiled at me, and the old man winked as she sat down with him. "Thanks, lad." He turned his attention back to her, and I turned to other matters. I wiped my hands clean on my pants as I walked away in thought.

I mentally reviewed my preparations for the Grand Line, and soon fell into deep thought as I found a spot to work things out in my head. I noticed my eyes flashed blue, and mentally thanked Usopp for his shaded glasses he found me. I soon came up with a tally of my purchases, and decided it was good enough for a last minute resupply.

One thing I was pretty proud of picking up on my shopping trip was that I managed to find a _ton_ of masks to wear! I found a dog, wolf, fox, bird, another cat, and just a bunch of other ANBU-esque looking masks at pretty good prices.

The not-so-proud moment was my run in with a little girl with an ice cream cone. Yeah, not the most exciting way to start a story, but when you remember who knocked the girl's ice cream over, it gets a lot more exciting real fast. Yeah… Smoker showed up.

"Sorry about that, girl…" A deep voice intoned across the hushed street. "Seems like my pants ate your ice cream. Here's some money to go buy yourself 5 scoop next time." Smoker growled out in what he probably assumed was a soothing voice.

I stiffened like crazy when I heard the words that struck an instant chord within me. I wheeled around slowly to look at the large man smoking two cigars in complete shock. Sadly for me, I think my motion attracted his attention because he looked right at me from across the crowd, and walked over. I scanned around me with my vision the second he started his approach, and knew I couldn't outrun him with his lackeys all over the square. "You know… I usually only see that reaction on the faces of criminals." He spoke loud enough to get the area around us clear of pedestrians.

I felt an awkward smile come up on my face, and managed to shrug at his obvious implication. "Well, last time I checked, I'm not one."

He grunted as he took a step back. "Then why the face?"

I blinked in faux innocence. "I always look like this?"

He barked at me in mild humor. "That's a first." He bit one of his cigars clean through to glare. "Why the reaction when you saw me, punk?"

I looked at him incredulously, and gestured around us. "I think everyone reacts that way to the Marines." I saw him glance around at the emptied street. "They're scared." I stated bluntly.

I heard a growl in his breathing, and felt my chakra start to rotate. "I have never assaulted an innocent." He replied just as blandly.

I breathed deeply through my nose, and calmed down before I had a chance to spark up. "You might not have, but they didn't get that instinctual reaction from hearing about all of the good deeds Marines do." I added sarcastically, and quickly bit my tongue as I realized what I had just said. " _What am I doing?! I need to placate him, and scurry away!"_ I felt my mark oddly heat up after that thought, and winced at the pain. I had to play it off as a shrug in front of Smoker though to not arouse suspicion. " _Did my mark just judge me?"_ I thought incredulously to myself. " _does it want me to stand up to Smoker?!"_ I thought with even more disbelief, and I felt my mark release a cool sensation like a burn under water. " _What the heck? It can think?"_

I didn't have time to continue my line of thinking because Smoker started to talk. "What are you implying?" He asked me in a dangerously low tone.

I felt my chakra flow in excitement, and clenched my fists as I spoke. " _I'm going to regret this…"_ I ignored the stinging in my arm, and spoke with a firm confidence I didn't know I had to Smoker. "The Marines are rotten from the core." I ignored the smoke that started to fog up the surroundings like mist. "There are certainly good men in the ranks, but when an agency is corrupt, it makes even the best of men corrupt too." I looked at him with actual remorse. "Sorry, sir."

He breathed heavily through his cigars, and the surrounding turned pure white as he spoke in the same low tone. "You might not be a Pirate, but those words are treason. I hope you like the inside of a jail cell, punk." He glared at me as the smoker wrapped around me, and flung me bodily down the street. I landed in the welcoming embrace of two Marines, and they helpfully locked me into cuffs.

I sagged in defeat as I saw Smoker look at me angrily. "I only pursue justice, pirates, and my orders. If that's corrupt, then I don't deserve my rank." He growled at me before jerking his head towards the way they came. "Hold him by my office. I'll be having more words with him." He scowled at me. "I don't believe you actually know what you just said." He lightened his scowl into his normal range, and spoke a little more evenly. "I'll be educating yo on how proper Marine's act, later." He spat out a mangled cigar to walk away with his men.

I grimaced as my escort drones yanked me down the street. I looked at one and two in appraisal. "So, you guys are going to watch over me, now?"

I saw one look to two, and raise an eyebrow in question. Two just nodded back at him, and then they both slammed the hilt of their pistols into my head. I remember swearing, "Damn unreliable mark" before losing consciousness.

-x-

I groaned at the headache I found upon waking, and instinctually flared my chakra. I felt my head clear up a little, and flicked my vision around me. I found two standing over a pile of knives, senbon, caltrops, steel wire, and shuriken that piled up at least two and a half feet with a gobsmacked look on his face. He looked to be well on his way to bulking up like his captain, and even had a pack of cigars sticking out of his pocket.

I found one sitting by a desk watching in amusement. He was clad in a typical Marine uniform, but it was offset by his dark skin, and blue hair. He was also notably reserved in appearance other than that. He had long sleeves, and wore clothing over everything. If he ducked his head under a hat, then you might not notice his differences.

I think my groan alerted them because they both turned to me. Two pointed at me in total disbelief. "How the _hell_ did you fit these on your person! I removed them, and I don't even know!" He yelled at me.

I scowled at his yelling, and shook my head in faux grogginess. "Wha… Hey! You took my stuff!"

One walked over to pick up some of the senbon curiously. "Yeah, standard procedure." He shot me a glance. "Why do you have so many needles? Do you sew?"

I let a small chuckle escape me. "Well, I know how, but that's not what they're for." I saw them look on curiously. "I prefer to use those to fight."

Two picked one of them up, and practiced a sword thrust with it. He seemed disappointed. "I don't get it." He admitted as he looked to one.

One took the needle, and poked his finger. He flinched as blood began to flow, and smirked. "I didn't even feel it. I only reacted after I saw the blood." He exclaimed to two. He walked over to me with even more curiosity. "Do you use them to attack unnoticed?" He asked.

I frowned at the two of them. "You're awfully curious about my weapons for a Marine who just arrested me."

One flushed a little, and scratched the back of his blue hair. "Sorry, I just haven't seen anything like this." He looked to two who had pulled up a chair.

Two looked me over expectantly. "If it helps, I don't think Captain Smoker is actually going to arrest you." I blinked in confusion at that, and then two smirked at one. "You see, he drags a couple of kids like you in here every now and then." He gestured at one who smiled quickly. "He probably plans on recruiting you like he did Riley, and me."

I raised a skeptical eyebrow at that. "Yeah… I doubt that. I wouldn't say we had a polite conversation earlier."

Two snorted at me. "Yeah, and Riley, there" He pointed to one. "Stole his wallet before Captain Smoker chained him up here in his office for a week to talk his ears off." Jeremy took on a slightly pained but wistful look. "I was here for 10 days." He snorted as he looked me over. "I have money on you lasting longer."

I felt my face twitch. "Let me get this straight… Smoker… _Marine Captain_ Smoker brought me to his office… to _brainwash me?!"_ I hissed at the two of them.

They leaned back in surprise before looking at one another in confusion that quickly turned contemplative. Jeremy put on a shaky grin. "Nah, it's not exactly brainwash… He just… Helps you… Corrects your…" He let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine, it's pretty close, but he just talks to you until you see it his way." He added hastily. "It's not like torture or anything!" I saw Riley scowling through the whole thing, but wiped it away when he saw me looking.

I looked between them, and then down to the handcuffs I had on. They were just normal steel. "So… You guys are okay with him kidnapping people off the streets, and indoctrinating them?" I asked incredulously.

Riley looked at me in surprise before turning to Riley. "You know… it does sound awful bad when he says it." He added almost hesitantly.

Jeremy snorted derisively at him. "Don't tell me you're buying this. He's just trying to get out of here."

Riley looked on the fence about everything. So, I tried to drive the point home. "Do you know what I said to get him to arrest me?" I saw surprise in their eyes, and they waited expectantly. I coughed into my fist a little, and spoke in a light but serious tone. "I accused the Marines of being corrupt at the core."

Jeremy scowled at me in anger while leaning down, and grabbing my collar. "Take that back! We aren't corrupt! We uphold justice! Do you know how many pirates Captain Smoker puts away a week?" He yelled in my face. "At least 3 crews of those criminals _a week_!"

I blinked in surprise at that, and turned to see Riley looking at me curiously. He didn't seem to be too surprised about what I said. So, I turned to him. "What about you? Aren't you going to defend the Marines?"

He blinked in surprise, and hastily switched his face to a mask of anger. "Of course I am!" He pulled back a fist. "Smoker is a good man!" He started to launch a punch right at my face, and Jeremy hastily pulled him back. I blinked in confusion at him as an odd feeling welled up in me like I knew Riley from somewhere. I switched my eyes blue, and searched for him in the manga, but came up empty. I frowned it thought, but came out of it when I realized that Jeremy was holding a perplexed Riley that was also staring at me.

I watched in amusement as Riley scowled at him, and Jeremy spoke to me. "I think you should just sit here, and accept that we aren't corrupt, or anything of the sort."He threw on a righteous expression. "If we were, then you wouldn't be sitting there peaceably."

He scowled at me, and walked out of the room. I raised an eyebrow to see Riley's face lose its anger, and switch to curiosity. "So… what do you mean by at it's core?"

I full on smirked at him. "I thought so!" I triumphantly looked over the Marine. "You weren't indoctrinated, were you?"

I saw him stiffen, and cast his gaze around the room. He seemed to be struggling over something before he leaned in to speak quietly. As he spoke I felt my chakra react in an odd way, and the sense of familiarity grow. "No, okay? I'm not. One day, I was starving to death, and needed something to eat. So, I tried to pick a random guy's pocket, and then that guy turned out to be the newly instated Captain walking around in his civvies. He locked me up for a week, and supposedly saw something in me." He clenched his jaw in anger. "I tried to get out, but he kept me under watch until I joined up." He blew out a sigh of frustration. "I know I should be thankful for a fresh start, but.." He looked at me in desperation. "I've seen too many _bad_ marines." He seemed to tremble as he remembered something, and deflated after talking.

I bit my lip as I thought things over in my head. "So… do you want to unenlist?"

He looked at me with surprise before frowning sadly. "I would, but Smoker has my Vivre Card. He…he said it's a Marine procedure for when a Captain brings up his direct subordinates." He grimaced. "I looked it up, and it makes sense. Tashigi and Jeremy did the same." He shrugged. "I heard it's used to find deserters, but I can't figure out where mine is."

I lowered my head as I thought things through, and finally let out a long sigh as I flared my chakra. I saw him watch in awe as I cut through one of the links via my fingernail, and stood up. "Well, I can give you your card." He looked at me in shock, and I smirked at him. "I ate a Devil Fruit. I can find it for you." I turned my vision around us, and grinned a little as I found a Sea Prism stone safe. "The real question is, do you want to run, or do something about whatever that memory was?"

He woke up from staring at my broken handcuffs, and I felt something in him cringe. He looked at me in shock. "How did you...?"

I shrugged. "I see things better than most." I replied succinctly.

I saw his eyes glaze over as his voice got softer. "The reason I was starving…" He seemed to be fully immersed in his story. "My parents were foreigners." He gestured to his blue hair. "They had just moved to a place called Grey Terminal. They happened to arrive during an inspection… That meant a World Noble was there. The Noble took one look at my parents, and accused them of being 'an eyesore'... I guess they stuck out too much in the crowd." He grimaced. "I got away because my dad threw his coat over me." I saw a tear roll down his face. "I was 14, and from then on I just drifted along until Smoker found me. He took me in, and made me a work for the the people who killed my parents."

I took all of that in, while idly picking the handcuffs with a senbon, and hiding my gear on my person with the other hand. I kept a flat look on my face as I spoke. "So, are you going to escape the Marine life? I can get you your card."

He clenched his fist, and turned to look at the flag hanging on the wall. The one with a white background, and five circles connected via lines to make a plus sign. He seemed to drop all barriers around me, and I could see the 14 year old kid who lost his parents looking at an insurmountable pass. He seemed to shake his head sadly as he looked at me. "I see what you're doing, but can't fight them. I can run, but that's it. They're too big."

I smiled at him in a way that I hoped would make Luffy proud. "They might be big, but you won't have to go at it alone."

He looked at me in surprise before looking to the flag again. He slowly let his hands fall to his side as he smiled at me. "I might be an idiot… but for some reason, I actually believe you." He walked forward to stick his hand out. "Petty Officer Riley Jackson." He stated firmly.

I smirked happily at the man as I took his hand into a shake. "Pirate Zachary Sewell." I said with as much firmness. I blinked in surprise as I felt a strand of chakra slip into his hand, and flow towards one of his blocked tenketsu. I mentally saved the phenomena for future investigation, and looked at his reaction.

He blinked in surprise at me both for my job title, and the slightly numb hand. "You're a pirate?" He flinched at my grin. "You want me to be a pirate?"

I lowered down my smile to speak. "No!" I assured him hastily. "Honestly, I can't think of a better place for you than here." I gestured around us. "The Petty Officer directly under a Captain is surely a great place for an informant."

He seemed to relax at my first part, but tense up at the end. "You… want me to stay here? Working for my parent's killers?" He asked incredulously.

I just shrugged helplessly at him. "Well, you could come with me, but I don't know how my Captain would feel…" I paused to look at him in earnest. "And you're probably best off being trained by the Marines. They have access to some pretty amazing techniques." I grinned at his interest, and waved down his questions. "Just tell Smoker you want to move up from being a babysitter to apprehending pirates like he does. I bet he'd be all too excited to help you train in the six powers."

Riley paused to think things through, and finally nodded at me. "Fine. I don't see harm in staying here to train anyway. It'll help me later." He looked at me quizzically. "But… I don't see how much help an informant in the East Blue is going to be to a Pirate in the Grand Line." He glared at me. "especially against the Nobles." He finished flatly as if I would forget his objective.

I smiled at him. "That's the thing though. You're going to follow Smoker after us in a chase. You'll be on our tails, and _that_ is where the fun starts." I saw him start thinking. "All of the plans I could possibly lay out won't mean a thing right now. We're too weak. When we get stronger, and my crew will, we'll be taking the fight to the World Government." He took a while but eventually nodded to my words. I smirked happily.

"Now, to settle your alibi…" I looked around the room, and picked up a chair experimentally. I looked at his confused glance, and smiled innocently. "Just make sure to make contact with me in Alabasta. Until then, train hard, and secure your standing in the Marines." I saw him nod as he took in my words, and I swung the chair full force against his back. I winced as I heard him grunt, and fall to the ground unconscious. "Sorry…" I whispered to my 'sleeping' informant, and turned to see Jeremy burst through the door.

He took one look around the room to settle on his fallen friend, and then glared at me. "You'll pay for that!" He pulled out his standard issue sword to charge at me, and I snorted. I just swung the chair around again, and knocked the wind out of him as it broke. I quickly channeled chakra into my hands as I struck a point near his arms, and moved along his torso to leave him twitching on the ground.

I frowned in thought as I looked at his angry glare. "Huh… that was only 25 or so… I wonder how long it will be until I get to 32… or even 64 for that matter." I shrugged it off as I stuffed a wad of paperwork in his mouth to gag him. I rubbed my hands in glee as I turned to the safe. "Now to the fun part!" I cackled in glee as I inspected the thing. Luckily, the thing wasn't heavy with chakra flowing. I just had to rip it out of the wall, and I got the whole thing to go.

I turned to see Riley starting to wake, and hastily made my escape. I found that aside from those two, the base had been emptied. I grimaced in realization that my friends had already started the party when a bolt of lightning fell in the center of town. "Damn… To the ship, or to the Monster Trio?" I bit my lip in thought as I ran out of the deserted base. I cast my vision to the docks, and saw Nami and Usopp running for it. I also noticed a squad of Marines that were going in the same direction. "Okay, I know they're good, but they're going to be outnumbered." I nodded to myself as I started towards the docks.

-x-

I ended up cutting off the squad of Marines before they made contact with my friends, but grimaced as I saw the lion tamer block them off. I ignored it momentarily, and turned to the squad of irate Marines I was blocking. One of them came up to yell at me. "Out of the way! We are in pursuit of dangerous pirates!"

I looked at him in deadpan. "Duh, why do you think i'm here?"

He blinked in surprise. "What?"

I smirked at him as I dropped the safe, and it landed with an audible thud. I looked them over as I rolled my shoulder, and took a step forward. "Hurry up, I'm late."

The leader seemed to wake up because he pulled up his rifle to fire. "Att-"

I cut him off by sticking a knife through his shoulder, and then closing the distance. I ripped the gun out of his hands, and twirled the butt to break the nose of another Marine. I quickly shot the one behind me in the leg, and ducked a blow from another. I discarded my liberated weapon, and turned my chakra laced hands to picking apart the other grunts. I found the only hard part about this fight was their numbers. It soon ended with me standing alone in an empty street huffing and puffing above the twitching Marines. I slowly retracted my vision to straighten up, and wheezed as I went to the safe. "Huh… I think fighting fishmen might've helped me more than I thought." I looked back at the former Marine squad. "They seemed awfully weak."

I shook my head hastily, and scouted out my route as ran back to where Usopp and Nami were fighting off some pirates. I scowled as I saw the lion tamer turn to fight the two, and promptly tripped up when Usopp knocked him out with one shot. I stopped in shock as I saw the lion turn to start licking it's coat, and started to question why I was running. "Do they even need me?" I thought aloud, and started to ninja jump the last couple of blocks to the ship. I made it there just in time to see Nami yelling in desperation at Usopp.

I hopped onboard just in time to hear her yell. "Where are they?! We need to get out of here before the storm!"

I looked behind us, and saw them being flung onboard via Luffy's rubber arms, and smirked as I stepped out of the way.

They landed with aplomb beside me, and I happily helped the charred Captain on his feet. "Hey! You're okay!" I cheered.

Luffy turned to me in surprise, and hugged me back. "Hey! You're okay too!" He cheered.

Finally, Zoro broke me out of the cheering with pertinent questions. "Why do you have a safe on your back?"

I looked behind me for confirmation before shrugging. "I thought it was valuable. So, I took it."

Usopp gave me an odd look. "Where'd you get it?"

I returned his odd look. "Oh, I found it in Smokey's office."

Usopp seemed to be able to accept that until he registered my words. At which point, he and Nami looked at me in shock. "You broke into his office?!"

They yelled at me, and I winced. "Well, yeah. That is where he locked me up." I said matter of factly.

Nami seemed about ready to explode at me in anger, but decided to scooch over to me in a total 180 as she smiled sweetly at me. "So, what's in the safe, partner?" She grinned mischievously as she said that, and I cursed that _agreement_ we signed.

I buried it all, and grinned to myself at what might be inside. "I'll show you after we get down Reverse Mountain, okay?"

I saw her sigh to herself in frustration, and walk away. I waited for it, and wasn't disappointed when she turned an angry stare at me. "wait… Did you say _Down_ a _mountain?_ " She shrieked at me.

I pulled down my hood to grin at everyone. "Oh, yes. Yes, I did." I saw skepticism from Zoro and Sanji. Luffy seemed excited. Nami was still angry. Usopp was terrified. All in all, they seemed to be taking it well. "But that's also something that's more fun to tell you later. We have to get there first, right Captain?" I asked him with eagerness clear on my face.

Luffy looked right back at me with a big grin on his face. "Yeah! We're about to reach the Grand Line!"

I smiled as Sanji pulled up a barrel. "We should celebrate this, right?" I grinned even more as Sanji put his foot up. "To find the All Blue!"

Zoro smirked as he put his foot on. "To be the greatest Swordsman…"

Luffy hopped up next. "To become the Pirate King!"

Nami was after him. "To draw a map of the world."

Usopp staggered his way forward too. "T...T-To become a brave warrior of the seas!"

I felt my heart race, and vaguely saw everyone's faces light up from the sparks dancing on my skin. "To adventure!" I added after everyone else.

-x-

Something that I had begun to notice was that my involvement tended to make things vary from the stories. I had also noticed that some stuff still managed to slip through. Take Luffy showing up late to fight Kuro, Zoro owing Nami money (Oh, yeah. That still happened somehow.), or us drifting into the Calm Belt.

I ran out of the dining cabin to see an impossibly calm stretch of water, and a raging storm not even half a mile from each other. "I feel like Ozaron is up there pulling strings!" I cursed to no one in particular as I ran to pull out the oars.

I turned to see Nami hugging the mast whimpering. "This place is a den for Sea Kings!"

Zoro looked over to the giant forms of Sea Kings that were rising out of the water to glare down at us. He whispered over between gritted teeth. "Okay, when this thing goes down, we row like crazy, got it?"

I heard some affirmatives, and I just nodded while tying Nami to the mast while she sat petrified looking out at the big guy. That done, I walked over beside Usopp to grab his shoulder just as the big guy start to inhale. "Ah…" Realization soon hit everyone, and they scrambled to grab something. I just held tight to Usopp, and gave him a nod. "Achoo!"

The Merry was sent flying straight out of the Calm Belt on a blast of boogey filled air. We landed roughly in the middle of the storm, and I had to untie the thoroughly shell-shocked navigator while Usopp was hugging. "Thank you so much, Zach!" He cried into my shoulder.

I shoved him off as I finished undoing a knot. "Stop it Usopp! It's not that big of a deal." I growled at him as he smiled embarrassed at me.

I finished untying Nami, and she leapt up to pull me into a hug. "Thank you, Zach! Thanks so much!"

I blinked in confusion, and shrugged it off as I returned the hug. "Anytime, Nami!" I cheerily replied.

I reluctantly let go of her as I saw Usopp and Sanji glaring daggers at me, and I scratched my head awkwardly. Luckily, Nami saved me this time. "Okay! Go tighten the sails, and turn us 35 degrees starboard. We're going to ride those currents Zach mentioned up the mountain!" She yelled out our duties.

After a bit of sailing, Luffy jumped up to yell. "I see the magic mountain!"

Usopp chimed in as well. "Wait! What's that huge shadow?!" I saw his jaw drop. "So that's the Red Line? I can't even see the top because of the clouds!" He finished in amazement.

I watched in more than a little surprise as Luffy gave an order. "Get a good grip of the rudder so we don't get dragged under!"

I blinked in surprise. "Guys, we're coming up on the archway!"

Everyone turned to look at the massive stonework that precursored the river going _up_ a mountain. I heard several gasps, and muttered exclamations. "Amazing…" "I can't believe it…" "The ocean is actually going up the mountain…"

Luffy broke the moment when he yelled at us. "We're veering off course! Turn right!"

I blanched as I heard the rudder snap. "We're going to hit the arch!" I yelled out.

A near unanimous scream then ensued. "We're gonna crash!"

I watched as we got closer to the giant stonework, and my adrenaline surged. I saw Luffy hop up on the railing to balloon the ship to safety, and I then proceeded to use the oars to help guide us up the mountain. I tried to use them to push away from obstructions, and we soon found ourselves at the top. I opened my eyes wide to look around, and sighed in amazement as I realized how far I could see. I felt like I could see Whiskey peak to the East, and bolted upright as I turned to the West. I looked through the distance, and froze as an island shrouded in fog started to become clearer.

The island rocky, and had several peaks to it. I saw a flash of lightning, and I used that moment to of light to focus as hard as possible on the end of the Grand Line, Raftel. I saw it in stark contrast, and froze as one figure came into view. I saw a red haired woman smirking at me playfully with blue eyes. I tried to blink in surprise, and felt as if my body had been mired in stone. Her smile just widened, and she disappeared from the shores of Raftel to appear right in front of me. "You think you're ready to lay eyes upon my sanctuary?" She asked me quietly, and I felt myself fall to the ground with full control over my body again.

I heaved in a breath, and looked around shakily to see the waves around us as frozen as my friends. "What… did you freeze them?" I ask her in a whisper that echoed in the frozen void.

She just smirked as she ran a hand along the railing. Her white dress trailed behind her, and it left a haunting image in my eyes that soon disappeared from memory. He words, however, remained. "Yes, I did." She looked over her shoulder at me, and frowned. "Stand up. We need to have a proper conversation." I shivered at her words, and hastily stood as she commanded. She turned her color shifting eyes to me as she looked me over seriously. "Good…"

-x-

" **Ablaze."** I felt the world come to life again as the last syllable faded into the roar of the waves, and Luffy screaming in the background. "To The Grand Line!" I looked around in confusion, and quickly found that no one had noticed anything that just happened. The only evidence that she was here was some key details I found in the crew. Nami had braided hair, Usopp's noses was shaking like crazy, Zoro's swords were misplaced, and Luffy's face looked like a clay doll someone dropped. I hastily turned around to see the very tip of Reverse Mountain cover my view of Raftel.

I shakily stood up to hug the railing, and get my bearing while everyone else picked up my slack. " _That was heavy… Can I really do what she wants?"_ I looked over to the others. " _I'm sure they would help if I asked, but… should I tell them this?"_ I shook my head to myself. " _No, even if I tell them, it won't change things. We aren't strong enough yet."_ I flared my chakra, and my eyes turned blue. " _I don't know when exactly we will be strong enough… Water 7? Not a chance… Marineford? Possible. Dressrosa? I know we can do something at that point, but now?"_ I clenched my fists, and looked back at the mountain behind me. " _It'll be a while… but there's stuff I can do now. I can't put everything on them, anyway."_

I was shaken out of my inner thinking as someone yelled over the roaring of the waves. "It's a mountain!"

I watched in amazement as the island whale, Laboon loomed on the horizon, and hurriedly pulled the oars out to try, and push us to the left where I could barely see a way out. I turned to Zoro, and yelled. "Help me push!" He jerked his head away from the whale, and helped me out, but the whale came too soon, and we ended up ramming it headfirst. It was shocking to say the least to see our figure head start to break free. It was then that I noticed where Nami was.

I jerked in realization from my position on the railing, and saw the Merry's masthead flying towards Nami. I watched in shock as my arms wouldn't move fast enough, my weapons would take to long to draw, and my eyes only let time slow down to show me Nami barely ducking under it, and wood on the railing blacken as Lightning surged from my body to my legs. I ran full tilt to push the figure head away, and hug Nami. "Are you okay?!" I asked her hurriedly as my lightning managed to avoid Nami haphazardly.

She looked around in complete shock, and pulled away from my grip to look at the fading lightning in amazement. She turned her head to the sheep head, and back to the whale before just sagging on the deck. "I'm fine. Just scared." She assured us all.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and my lightning just faded to nothing as I sagged too. "Damn… That stuff is hard to control." I muttered.

I flinched wildly as I noticed Luffy yelling. "MY SPECIAL SEAT!"

I quickly drew myself up, and shot a look at Nami who responded in kind. We nodded to each other, and she started yelling. "Nows our chance! run for it!" She looked up at Laboon in disbelief as we sailed around it. "What's with this thing? Did it not even feel that cannonball just now?"

Usopp made a shaky suggestion as he pulled the sails down. "Maybe it's just really slow?"

I flinched again as Sanji yelled beside me. "Who the hell cares? Just get us the hell out of here!"

I almost had a seizure as Laboon let out his roar. "BUOOOHHHH!"

I assume the others yelled something, but couldn't exactly hear what they said. Next thing I knew, Luffy punched the guy in they eye, and we were getting sucked into his mouth. I tried desperately to get my ears working while I flashed blue, and tried to remember why I didn't remember the freaking whale. I seemed to recall Whiskey Peak happening right away, and this was really putting me through a loop.

I finally settled down as the vague memories of whale hunters, and Luffy tearing up our ship came back to me. " _Oh, dangit. I remembered the little stuff, but forgot the gigantic Island Whale, Laboon."_ I looked at the ship and crew felt a pit in my stomach thinking I could have avoided this.

I tried to cough to get their attention, but Zoro spoke first. "What do I make of this?"

Sanji was next. "Yeah, what's your explanation for this? I could've sworn we were swallowed by a whale." He queried of everyone as we looked up to a blue sky with clouds hanging in it.

I finally coughed loud enough for them to look over. I raised my hand like you do in school. "If I could explain?" I saw some grateful nods, and smirked. "We are in a whale. If you look, then you'll see that that clouds don't move. They're painted on."

I saw Usopp look up in amazement. "But why would someone do that?"

I smirked a little as stuff came back to me. "Everyone has hobbies." I ignored their skeptical looks, and turned towards the island. "Well, the resident doctor could probably explain things for us."

I smiled as we saw a giant squid pop up only to be shot through with a harpoon. Crocus then started his walk out. Zoro looked over to me skeptically. "Should we open fire on this guy? He did just easily kill the giant squid." He explained.

I shook my head. "Nah, he's one of the good guys." I gestured over to him. "Can I do the talking?" I asked them eagerly.

Sanji took a quick drag before he and everyone else just shrugged. "Sure." He stated simply.

I felt a little disappointed at the response, but shook it off. I saw Crocus walk out, and look us over. He just stood there glaring at us before walking over to sit on his chair. I quietly looked him over before smirking. I took a step forward, and watched as he followed me with his eyes. when I got to the edge, I jumped, and landed on the water. Then, I watched as his jaw dropped. I did a quick bow, and walked towards him. "I know you like a good gag, but my friends don't. So, I came to talk with you." I explained easily.

He was still staring at my feet, and when I made it to his island I plopped down to sit on the grass. I could hear him gulp. "So…" He started, and I waved him off.

I gestured to me and the crew. "I'm Zachary Sewell. That's the rest of my Nakama. I think our Captain is coming in through the other door." I saw him blink in surprise. "I wanted to be polite." I explained.

He seemed to ease up a little at that, and took a sip of his drink before answering. "So, what do you want?"

I shrugged before smiling. "We got caught on accident on our way in." I explained. "Any chance you could help us get out?"

I saw him nod, and yell at the others. "Take that door over there, and you can leave!" He looked down at me. "You… I do hope you won't hurt Laboon." He added carefully.

I frowned at him. "I wouldn't dream of it, sir." He flinched in surprise at the respect I had in my tone of address for him, and looked to the crew. I nodded slightly to him, and jumped back on the water.

Before I could make it back to the ship, Laboon started to rampage, and the 'sea' started to get choppy. I had to leap onto the boat just to make it. I saw Zoro pointing at me. "What's going on?! Why is the whale shaking?!"

I held my hands up in defeat. "It wasn't me! Laboon is doing it!" I saw his confused look, and glared at him "The whale!" I added loudly.

He looked at me accusingly anyway, and turned to Nami. "Either way, let's get out of here. The door is just over there. Let's get out before it gets worse."

Sanji looked out to the waves in dismay. "We've got no choice but to row!"

I elected to not do that as I saw, with my vision, Luffy barreling over Vivi and her partner to knock them into the water. I hastily jumped out to grab Luffy, and threw him onboard. "Hey! Zach! I found you guys!" He cheerily called from the Merry.

I glared at him as I walked out to pick up the two agents, and ram my brass knuckles into their heads. I then pulled the two 'sleepy' whalers onboard, and proceeded to tie them up with my steel wire. I made sure they were separated too.

Zoro walked over with everyone else to look at them curiously. "Why'd you tie them up?"

I deadpanned at Zoro's question. "They snuck inside a whale with cannons. They're probably not the most trustworthy people." He nodded reluctantly to me.

Sanji seemed to mid swoon over the sleeping Vivi, and I flinched as he glared at me. "Those bindings better not hurt such a beautiful specimen of a woman, Sparky!"

I scowled at him, and looked to the others for help, but saw them leaving. So, I hastily yelled after them. "Hey, guys?" I got everyone's attention. "Can I be the one watch them?"

Sanji ran up to me, and pulled me by the collar. "You be nice to the lady, hear me?" He growled in my ear as he dropped me.

I blinked in confusion before turning to Luffy who just smiled. "Sure thing, Zach!"

I smiled back at him, and leaned against the railing. When the others walked away to start sailing, I kicked the male idly. "Hey, buddy?" I saw him flinch, and open his eyes. I poked Vivi's shoulder. "Princess?" Another flinch.

I smiled happily as they both looked around themselves curiously. Mr. 9 spoke hesitantly to me. "What do you want?" He winced a little at what I assumed was the headache I gave them.

I shrugged noncommittally, and looked the two of them over quizzically. "Do you two want to explain why you snuck into Laboon with cannons?"

Vivi glared at me. "Why should we answer your questions?"

I blinked in surprise at her, and leaned forward to inspect her eyes. "Huh…" I muttered.

Mr. 9 glared at me, and tried to kick me away from his flustered partner. "Get out of her face!" He growled.

I idly swatted away his foot, and furrowed my brows in thought. "You… I feel like I know you." She blinked in surprise, and we both backed away. " _Of course I_ know _her, but why do I feel like we're old friends when I look at her. It's like some instinct telling me to trust her."_ I glanced down at my mark in thought, and turned away from the pale Vivi to Mr. 9. "You though… I don't know you."

I turned to Vivi as she seemed to collect herself, and waited for her to respond. Mr. 9 just watched on with some interest. "I-I believe you are mistaken." She glared frostily at me. "I _don't_ know you." She stated firmly.

I nodded idly to her words, and walked over to Mr. 9. He looked at me critically, and I frowned at him. "Well, I need a word with her." He raised an eyebrow at me, and I walloped him over the head. I flicked my vision on to see his eyes roll back.

Vivi struggled against her bonds to yell at me. "Why did you do that?!"

I turned to her a little angrily, and shushed her. "Quiet, or you'll wake him up, _Vivi."_

I saw her flinch and pale as she took in my words. Finally, she croaked out a response quietly. "How did you know?"

I squatted down beside her to speak. "I see better than most." I smirked at her disbelieving face. "It doesn't matter how, but I _do_. So, I don't want to blackmail you, or cause you trouble, or even ask you to explain why whale hunting has become a hobby." I looked her dead in the eye as she started to fidget. "I just want to know if I can help the royal princess of Alabasta." I said with as much sincerity as possible.

She froze at my words, and seemed to come out of her persona as she looked me over with notably kinder eyes. I felt the feeling of familiarity increase as she did so, and felt something in my chakra stir a little. I put it to the side as she spoke. "I… don't know if I can trust you, but it seems like you are sincere." She let out a sigh, and looked over to her partner. "Would you be willing to let us 'escape', and take down the whale?"

I glared at her reproachfully. "No. You're not getting Laboon." I saw her shoulders sag a little. "I can let you guys 'escape' though." That seemed to help her mood a little.

She frowned in thought before nodding. "That would be for the best."

I smirked at her, and helped her out of her bonds, and then we did the same for Mr. 9. I looked him over, and found him still unconscious. "Listen, Vi-" I flinched at her glare, and gesture towards her partner. "Miss, I really would like to help." I gestured to the crew. "I know they would too. I know you can't trust strangers completely, but if I explain to them who you are, then they'd help."

She frowned a little as she looked around the crew guiding the ship out of Laboon. "I don't even know why I trust you so easily…" She whispered, and shook her head before handing me Mr. 9's wire. "I'd rather keep my circumstances private."

I sighed in defeat, and backed away. "Fine, if you leave Laboon alone, then I promise to let you guys go." I hardened my stare as my eyes switched to red, and she flinched. "But if you harm him, then I'll come to settle the score."

She gulped audibly before nodding as she pulled Mr. 9 up, and shaking him awake. She adopted her persona, and I felt the familiarity lessen. "Mr. 9, wake up! He's going to let us go if we give him a referral to join." She hissed in his ear as he groggily woke up.

He straightened after a second, and blinked at me smirking face. "He is?" He bolted onto his feet as he looked around, and reached for a gun that wasn't there. "Oh?" He looked over to me again. "Then, give us our guns, and we can still get the whale." He ordered me quietly.

I shook my head firmly with a frown. "You won't be hurting the whale today."

He seemed ready to fight or argue about it, but Vivi held him back. "Listen, we might go back with a failure, but we did get a strong recruit to make up for it." She saw him looking hesitant, and she drove the point home. "He can beat us easy. They'll be glad for his help."

He finally sighed in defeat, but not before shooting me a glare. "Fine, let's just get back to base, and deal with it." He frowned as he and Vivi leapt off the Merry to swim into the ocean about the same time the Merry came out of the whale. I did notice Vivi looking at me periodically as she swam away, and I frowned in thought as the feeling disappeared.

I turned away from them to see that Zoro had walked up to my side. He looked over at me curiously. "Why'd you let them go?"

I bit my lip in thought. "They promised not to hurt Laboon, and they'll be back anyway." I pointed towards a glass compass lying on the deck, and then gave him a pointed look. "By the way, their names were Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday."

I saw him stiffen a little before smirking at me. "You mean they work for that group?" I nodded, and his smirk grew wider. "Good. I could use a good fight."

I scowled at him. "What about me? Don't we spar often enough?"

He snorted, and leaned against the railing. "You were out for like a week, and you always dance around me. It's annoying more than fighting."

I frowned at him, and he smirked back as we both started to pull our weapons out. I grinned as he raised his eyebrows in shock at pulling out _Kitetsu the Third_ instead of his _Wadou Ichimonji._ I chose that moment to pull a knife from my sleeve to rest at his neck, and looked down to see his other hand holding his _Yubashiri_ at my gut. I frowned at him, and he smirked. "See? Not a good fight."

I drew my blade back, and scowled at him. "Okay, then just fight Teacher Sanji."

He dropped his smirk to look at the blond spinning in a love tornado as he prepared drinks for Nami, and a small picnic while she listened to Crocus and Luffy talk. "That shit cook?" Sanji weirdly turned to glare at that exact moment. "He's weaker than you." Zoro grunted at me as he sheathed his swords.

I flinched as Sanji yelled over. "Quiet down, moss head, sparky!"

I raised an eyebrow to Zoro. "So, that's my nickname now?" I asked him exasperatedly.

He just shrugged as he walked over to the picnic. "Eh, I'll think of a better one than the pervy cook's"

I frowned in depression as I made my way to where I stowed the safe from Smoker's office. "I'll just deal with that later… For now, I need to open this thing." I smirked happily as I saw the lock was only a three tumbler system.

I spent the next fifteen minutes with my ear lightly pressed against it, and softly clicking the pins into place. " _It would be so much easier if it wasn't housed in the one thing I can't see through."_ I grumbled to myself, and smirked as it finally clicked open. I looked at it skeptically, and frowned at Smoker. "9-1-1? how does he even know that?" I frowned in thought before shrugging it off. "Doesn't matter." I was about to inspect the contents when I heard.

"BUOOOHHH!" I hastily pulled my hand away from contact with the safe, and turned in shock to see Luffy fighting Laboon. I sighed in exasperation as I noticed our missing mast, and frowned as Luffy hopped on top of Laboon to yell. "IT'S A DRAW!"I smiled happily as he worked out a new agreement, and started to paint on Laboon's forehead. I quickly shrugged it off as I started to inspect the contents. I found Nami had mysteriously appeared by my side, and I frowned at her.

She saw my looking at her, and smiled sheepishly. "My instincts told me you found something good." She smiled happily as she pushed me aside to reach into the safe, and pull out wads of Beri. She put it in front of her nose, and inhaled. "Ahhh! That's the stuff. "She sighed happily, and I tried to ignore her ecstasy.

I pulled out some more, and found a wad of papers, and two durably built Log Poses. I smirked happily, and Nami leaned over to look at the papers while I tucked away to the poses. I smirked as I realized that one was actually an Eternal Pose. "What do the papers say?" I asked curiously, and she shrugged after a cursory glance.

I blinked as she stuffed them into my hands to pull some more shiny things out. "You can have them. They're not money."

I blinked in surprise, and looked them over. "It appears that Smoker kept a ledger on all money flow going through his base... " I blinked in surprise. "If this is right, then we should have around 1.5 million in here." I frowned a little as I turned over more papers. "Guess they already sent a ship off with the other…" I hastily closed the papers, and started to inspect the others.

Nami looked at me with a strained smile. "How much did he send away, Zach?"

I flinched at the pained tone she was using, and replied weakly behind a bundle of papers detailing the Marine coded response system. "30 million Beri."

She deflated, and cast a haunted look over the towards the mountain. "We could go back, right?" She turned to me desperately. "We could sail up the mountain, and rob them again, right Zach?" She had her hands on my throat as she questioned me.

I hastily ripped her hands off, and heaved in a breath of air as I glared at her. "No! We can't for so many reasons, but most of all because of Luffy." I pointed at our Captain happily chattering with a whale. "You couldn't drag him out of the Grand Line now that he's here." I smirked a little she calmed down to look around us curiously.

Eventually, she turned to me with a skeptical look. "That reminds me, why is this place so dangerous? It looks like any other ocean."

I flinched at her words, half expecting it to start snowing, and relaxed when it didn't. I glared at her. "The weather changes not only island to island, but current to current." I saw her eyes widen at the possibilities of such an ocean. "That's not the worst part though, look at your compass."

I plugged my ears, and smirked as she screamed out. "MY COMPASS!"

I hastily waved her down, and pulled out Vivi's Log Pose to give her. She accepted it numbly, and we both turned to see Sanji walking over with a fold up table in one hand, and fish in the other. I grimaced, and looked over the fish sadly. "Aww, man… I hate fish." Everybody ignored me, and I grumpily pulled a rock over to sit on as we ate. I looked over to Nami idly inspecting her Log Pose, and got her attention. "It works via the magnetic fields inherent to islands of the Grand Line." She and everyone else looked up with interest as I spoke. "You just need to let it reset on each island, and it will point to the next island."

Nami looked at me curiously as she seemed to be taking mental notes. "How long does it take to reset, and does it allow for changes in course?"

I blinked in surprise, and smirked at her. "The Grand Line could feasibly be narrowed down to seven different magnetic chains to follow. Each island has a different time to reset. Some are as fast as a couple of hours, and others take as long as a hundred years. The only thing you can ever rely on in the Grand Line is your Log Pose. It will never steer you wrong like the weather or your compass." I finished the lecture with as much severity as I could. I idly saw Crocus nodding along to my words.

Nami seemed to realize how serious it was, and held her wrist up to the light to inspect, and was promptly flabbergasted to see Sanji kicking Luffy through the glass ball. "YOU ATE IT ALL?!" He screamed.

I quickly stepped away just in time for Nami to beat them over the heads with shark teeth in her mouth as she yelled. "LOOK WHAT YOU DID!".

I idly flicked my vision out to sea, and found the unluckies dropping a care package onto Miss Wednesday, and Mr. 9. I grimaced at the impact, and turned my vision to Nami pleading for Crocus to lend us one. I started to pull mine out for her, but stopped as Crocus ended up giving her his. I blinked in surprise, and shrugged it off. I walked over to where the two agents should come up, and smirked as they looked at me in surprise. I stuck out a hand that they gratefully accepted. "So, you two are back?"I asked them curiously, and winced as I heard Usopp scream at my back.

Nami looked over in confusion, and Usopp hastily armed himself. "The weirdos are back!" He yelled.

I had to hastily run in front of the two to avoid my friends attacking them, but it was important. Even if they all now knew that they were _hunting_ Laboon. It wa actually only Luffy who I didn't have to hold back. I glared all of them down as I shielded the duo. "Guys! Let's hear them out first!"

Mr. 9 looked to me gratefully, and looked to Luffy in earnestness. "I have a request."


End file.
